Ahead of the break for Eid-ul-Fitr, the Singapore stock market had finished higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,355-point plateau although it's likely to open under pressure Wednesday as it catches up on missed sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and sliding crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials, properties and industrials.
For the day, the index gained 21.81 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 3,356.90 after trading between 3,344.68 and 3,389.64. Volume was 1.78 billion shares worth 2.02 billion Singapore dollars. There were 282 gainers and 224 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.68 percent, City Developments tumbled 1.95 percent, DBS Group soared 2.76 percent, Hongkong Land declined 1.26 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.15 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust retreated 1.06 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.76 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.56 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation surged 3.60 percent, SATS plunged 2.57 percent, Singapore Exchange climbed 0.62 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.49 percent, SingTel fell 0.36 percent, Thai Beverage rallied 0.74 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.50 percent, Wilmar International accelerated 1.83 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 12.10 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 2.25 percent and Comfort DelGro, Dairy Farm International, SembCorp Industries, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Genting Singapore were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line all day on Tuesday before finally ending with modest gains.
The Dow added 67.29 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 33,128.79, while the NASDAQ rose 27.74 points or 0.22 percent to end at 12,563.76 and the S&P 500 gained 20.10 points or 0.48 percent to close at 4,175.48.
Some encouraging earnings updates and strong economic data aided sentiment ahead of the central bank's policy announcement later today.
The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rate by 50 basis points, the sharpest rate hike in about 22 years. The accompanying statement is eyed for clues about how aggressively the central bank plans to tighten monetary policy.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods spiked by more than expected in March. Also, the number of job openings in the U.S. rose by 205,000 from a month earlier to a series high of 11.549 million in March.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand. Also, fears of sharp interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June sank $2.76 or 2.6 percent at $102.41 a barrel.