To The Moon

The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index sits just above the 3,440-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on geopolitical concerns focused on Russia and Ukraine, as well as sinking crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The STI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financials, properties and industrials.

For the day, the index added 2.27 points or 0.07 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,441.57 after peaking at 3,466.23. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 1.6 billion Singapore dollars. There were 260 gainers and 207 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and Dairy Farm International both fell 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust spiked 1.43 percent, City Developments dipped 0.27 percent, Comfort DelGro jumped 1.36 percent, DBS Group slumped 0.73 percent, Hongkong Land perked 0.18 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust added 0.55 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.57 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was up 0.07 percent, SATS rallied 1.20 percent, SembCorp Industries surged 3.61 percent, Singapore Airlines soared 1.50 percent, Singapore Exchange retreated 1.43 percent, Singapore Press Holdings lost 0.43 percent, SingTel gained 0.39 percent, Thai Beverage shed 0.72 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.34 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.21 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding climbed 0.72 percent and Genting Singapore, Singapore Technologies Engineering and Keppel Corp were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and accelerated deeper into the red as the session progressed.

The Dow plummeted 622.24 points or 1.78 percent to finish at 34,312.03, while the NASDAQ plunged 407.38 points or 2.88 percent to close at 13,716.72 and the S&P 500 tumbled 94.75 points or 2.12 percent to end at 4,380.26.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed geopolitical concerns as the Biden administration is describing a Russian invasion of Ukraine as imminent. Adding to the concerns, the State Department said Russia has expelled the deputy chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Moscow.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated by a Labor Department report showing a rebound in initial jobless claims last week. The Commerce Department also said new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back sharply in January.

Oil prices declined sharply Thursday on reports talks in Vienna to revive the Iranian nuclear deal are nearing their conclusion. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $1.90 or 2 percent at $91.76 a barrel.