The Singapore stock market on Friday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 60 points or 1.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,425-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm thanks to better than expected employment data from the United States and a jump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financials, plantations and industrials.
For the day, the index jumped 36.50 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 3,424.64 after trading between 3,394.39 and 3,431.64. Volume was 1.5 billion shares worth 1.05 billion Singapore dollars. There were 238 gainers and 179 decliners.
Among the actives, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 3.33 percent, while Genting Singapore spiked 3.31 percent, DBS Group soared 2.48 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation jumped 2.23 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 2.14 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.55 percent, SembCorp Industries advanced 1.34 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.98 percent, Wilmar International added 0.65 percent, CapitaLand gained 0.58 percent, SingTel fell 0.53 percent and Hutchison Port Holdings, Golden Agri-Resources, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Thai Beverage and CapitaLand Mall Trust all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Friday after the release of the jobs report, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 117.68 points or 0.49 percent to 24,329.16, while the NASDAQ rose 27.24 points or 0.40 percent to 6,840.08 and the S&P added 14.52 points or 0.55 percent to 2,651.50. For the week, the NASDAQ fell 0.1 percent, the Dow and the S&P both gained 0.4 percent,
The continued advance by stocks followed a report from the Labor Department showing stronger than expected job growth in November, while the jobless rate came in as expected.
Positive sentiment was also generated when the House and the Senate passed a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. The bill extends government funding until December 22, allowing time to negotiate a longer-term spending bill.
Crude oil prices rose Friday amid concerns of supply disruptions from Nigeria as workers threatened to strike at a crucial production facility. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 67 cents or 1.2 percent to $57.36/bbl. Still, oil was down 1.5 percent for the week.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.