The Singapore stock market has finished higher in five consecutive trading days, climbing more than 45 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,175-point plateau although the market is ripe for profit taking on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft, with many of the regional bourses oversold and investors looking for a reason to lock in gains. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials, properties and industrials were tempered by weakness from the plantations and telecoms.
For the day, the index collected 9.83 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 3,173.76 after trading between 3,161.99 and 3,176.79. Volume was 2.66 billion shares worth 1.35 billion Singapore dollars.
Among the actives, Noble Group plummeted 3.95 percent, while Genting Singapore surged 3.72 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 2.23 percent, Golden Agri-Resources skidded 1.37 percent, CapitaLand climbed 1.36 percent, DBS Group collected 0.57 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation added 0.51 percent and SingTel fell 0.27 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as stocks ran out of steam following the recent rally.
The Dow shed 21.03 points or 0.10 percent to 20,975.09, while the NASDAQ eased 0.27 points to 6,025.23 and the S&P 500 fell 1.16 points or 0.05 percent to 2,387.45.
Investors were digesting President Trump's highly anticipated tax reform plan, which would reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to three, with a top rate of 35 percent and lower rates of 25 percent and 10 percent.
The president's proposal would also lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from the current 35 percent.
Crude oil futures wobbled Wednesday, bouncing back from early losses when the government reported a surprisingly large build in U.S. oil inventories. June WTI oil was up 6 cents or 0.1 percent to $49.62/bbl, staying near its lowest levels of the month.
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