To The Moon

The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 45 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,130-point plateau and it figures to add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing virus concerns, supported by tech and oil stocks. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the industrial stocks.

For the day, the index gained 18.34 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 3,134.66 after trading between 3,120.44 and 3,138.41. Volume was 1.26 billion shares worth 1.13 billion Singapore dollars. There were 324 gainers and 159 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT perked 0.34 percent, while City Developments accelerated 1.46 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.70 percent, Dairy Farm International was up 0.33 percent, DBS Group added 0.79 percent, Keppel Corp gathered 0.97 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust rallied 0.99 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.62 percent, SATS jumped 1.29 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 0.50 percent, Singapore Airlines soared 2.25 percent, Singapore Exchange advanced 0.85 percent, Singapore Press Holdings increased 0.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.27 percent, SingTel climbed 1.26 percent, Thai Beverage spiked 1.50 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.41 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.48 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.333 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust, Genting Singapore and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow spiked 492.40 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 35,719.43, while the NASDAQ surged 461.76 points or 3.03 percent to close at 15,686.92 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.08 points or 2.07 percent to end at 4,686.75.

Easing concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street. Indications the variant causes milder symptoms has helped offset worries the new strain could derail the global economic recovery.

Intel (INTC) fueled the rally as the semiconductor giant is jumped 3.1 percent to its best closing level in well over a month. The spike by Intel comes after the company announced its intention to take its self-driving car unit Mobileye public in the U.S. in mid-2022 via an initial public offering.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of October amid a spike in the value of exports.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, lifting the most active futures contracts to their highest settlement in two weeks amid rising optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January surged $2.56 or 3.7 percent at $72.05 a barrel.