Singapore Stock Market Add To Its Winnings

The Singapore stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the three-day slide in which it had surrendered more than 100 points or 3.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,200-point plateau and it opens in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast is broadly positive on bargain hunting and easing inflation concerns after crude oil prices retreated sharply. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, industrial issues and property stocks.

For the day, the index spiked 46.52 points or 1.48 percent to finish at 3,195.38 after trading between 3,136.49 and 3,203.38. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 1.54 billion Singapore dollars. There were 303 gainers and 224 decliners.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gained 0.47 percent, while City Developments added 0.72 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.73 percent, Dairy Farm International slumped 0.82 percent, DBS Group$DBS GROUP HOLDINGS LTD(D05.SI)$ soared 3.30 percent, Genting Singapore tumbled 1.96 percent, Hongkong Land dipped 0.39 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 1.17 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust strengthened 1.14 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation$OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORP(O39.SI)$ rallied 1.41 percent, SATS rose 0.26 percent, SembCorp Industries spiked 2.25 percent, Singapore Airlines$SINGAPORE AIRLINES LTD(C6L.SI)$ accelerated 1.85 percent, Singapore Exchange lost 0.53 percent, Singapore Press Holdings fell 0.43 percent, SingTel improved 0.40 percent, Thai Beverage advanced 0.75 percent, United Overseas Bank$UNITED OVERSEAS BANK LIMITED(U11.SI)$ surged 3.68 percent, Wilmar International was up 0.21 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding jumped 1.43 percent and Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Singapore Technologies Engineering were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow surged 653.61 points or 2.00 percent to finish at 33,286.25, while the NASDAQ spiked 459.99 points or 3.59 percent to end at 13,255.55 and the S&P 500 soared 107.18 points or 2.57 percent to close at 4,277.88.

A pullback by commodities prices contributed to the rebound on Wall Street, as the recent surge in prices had led to worries about even higher inflation.

Oil prices plunged sharply on Wednesday, a day after recording their highest close in 14 years, after analysts said the U.S. and U.K. ban on Russian oil imports will be far less disruptive to global markets than a full international embargo. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down by $15 or 12.1 percent at $108.70 a barrel.

The markets also benefited from bargain hunting, as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent weakness.