FX.co ★ Singapore Shares May Break Through 3,200-Point Barrier

The Singapore stock market showed promising growth on Friday, after a two-day winning streak that saw a rise of over a dozen points or 0.3 percent. Now, the Straits Times Index hovers just below the 3,180-point level and further growth is anticipated on Monday.

The optimistic global forecast for Asian markets, with strong employment data from the U.S, gives hope for the Asian market's future. This positive news could dampen the prospect of an interest rate development next month while the European markets remained level and mixed. The U.S. markets showed a rise and it's expected that the Asian markets will follow suit.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended markedly higher on Friday, backed by gains from financial shares, property stocks, REITS, and industrial sectors. The index rose by 36.71 points or 1.17 percent, ending at 3,179.77 following the trading that fluctuated between 3,153.98 and 3,191.16.

Many active players like Ascendas REIT and CapitaLand Investment among others showed significant progress. However, SATS, Seatrium Limited, Thai Beverage, Yangzijiang Financial, Genting Singapore, and DFI Retail remained unchanged.

The dramatic increase from Wall Street saw major average trading numbers commence mixed on Friday but trend upward consistently, resulting in both the Dow and S&P 500 gaining new record closing highs.

This extended growth on Wall Street comes in response to positive earning news from Facebook's parent Meta Platforms and e-commerce giant Amazon.

Additionally, the Labor Department's report, revealing stronger-than-projected job growth in January, also influenced the traders. Although this reduces the chances of an interest rate reduction in March, a robust jobs market is considered favorable for the stock market and economy.

Contrarily, oil prices saw a steep drop on Friday as prospects for an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve diminished following data that revealed a greater increase in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in January, leading to a severe rise in the dollar value. Oil prices were also impacted significantly, with West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ending down by about 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Singapore is set to release the December data for retail sales; in November, there was a 0.5 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 2.5 percent increase yearly basis.