Ahead of Friday's holiday for the Lunar New Year, the Singapore stock market had bounced higher on Thursday - one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 40 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,445-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, thanks to firm economic data and another bounce in crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher - and the Asian markets are expected to open in the green.
The STI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the plantations, financials and industrials, while the properties came in mixed.
For the day, the index jumped 40.65 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 3,443.51 after trading between 3,415.51 and 3,445.88. Volume was 1.1 billion shares worth 1.04 billion Singapore dollars. There were 272 gainers and 123 decliners.
Among the actives, Thai Beverage plummeted 6.59 percent, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation surged 4.24 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 3.73 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 3.05 percent, City Developments spiked 2.91 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 1.79 percent, Wilmar International jumped 1.68 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 1.64 percent, Comfort DelGro perked 1.49 percent, Golden Agri-Resources gathered 1.41 percent, SembCorp Industries was up 1.26 percent, DBS Group added 0.89 percent, SingTel fell 0.60 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust lost 0.51 percent and Hutchison Port Holdings, CapitaLand Commercial Trust and Ascendas REIT all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is generally positive as stocks moved mostly on Friday but turned mixed over the course of the session. The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
The Dow added 19.01 points or 0.08 percent to 25,219.38, while the NASDAQ fell 16.96 points or 0.23 percent and the S&P 500 gained 1.01 points or 0.04 percent to 2,732.22. For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 5.3 percent, while the Dow and the S&P both surged 4.3 percent.
The mixed close came after Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office revealed that a federal grand jury has indicted several Russian nationals for allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election. The indictment does not allege collusion between the Russians and President Donald Trump's campaign but could still cause headaches for the president.
In economic news, the Labor Department said import and export prices jumped more than expected in January. Also, the Commerce Department noted a rebound in building permits and new residential construction in January. And the University of Michigan noted improvement in consumer sentiment in February.
Crude oil futures rose Friday, even as the U.S. oil rig count jumped for a fourth straight week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose 34 cents or 0.6 percent to $61.68 a barrel. For the week, prices rose 4.2% and moved back toward January's four-year highs.
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