Oil futures climbed on Wednesday, as comments from the Federal Reserve, signaling its intent to raise key interest rates cautiously, indirectly sparked a rebound in West Texas Intermediate crude prices, pushing them above $44 a barrel.
Prices had earlier fallen below $43 to fresh six-year lows after a U.S. government report revealed a 10th straight weekly increase in crude supplies.
April crude CLJ5, -1.75% tacked on $1.20, or 2.8%, to settle at $44.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The late-session rally put an end to a six-session losing streak. Prices closed Tuesday at their lowest level since March 2009.
Brent crude for May delivery LCOK5, -0.82% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $2.40, or 4.5%, to settle at $55.91 a barrel.
SINGAPORE shares ended 1.34 per cent lower on Monday with the Straits Times Index slipping 44.86 points to 3,305.64.
Some 1.72 billion shares, valued at S$1.27 billion were traded.
Gainers numbered 84 while losers numbered 400.
Asian markets mostly fell Friday, with energy firms taking a dive as oil sat at four-year lows after the Opec cartel ignored calls to cut production in response to plunging prices and a supply glut.
Sydney's ASX/S&P 200, the home of energy giants such as BHP Billiton, Woodside and Santos, took a huge hit as investors fled to the sidelines, although regional airlines benefited from the prospect of cheap fuel.
The index tumbled 1.34 per cent, Seoul lost 0.16 per cent and Hong Kong shed 0.24 per cent, while Shanghai was flat. However, Tokyo climbed 0.94 per cent thanks to a weakening yen.
US markets were closed for Thanksgiving.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Monday with the Straits Times Index up 4.61 points to 3,349.93.
Volume was 70.6 million shares worth S$78.1 million.
Gainers outnumbered losers 92 to 35.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Tuesday with the Straits Times Index up 16.63 points to 3,305.3.
Volume was 59.9 million shares worth S$45.4 million.
Gainers outnumbered losers 70 to 41.
MARKET UPDATES :
- SINGAPORE shares ended 0.27 per cent lower on Tuesday with the Straits Times Index slipping 8.85 points to 3,292.15. Some 1.15 billion shares, valued at S$989.1 million were traded. Gainers numbered 150 while losers numbered 242.
- SINGAPORE’S public accountants and public accounting firms will soon have to adhere to stricter professional conduct and ethics guidelines aimed at greater audit independence. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra), the industry’s regulator, announced on Monday that the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics (Code) for public accountants and accounting entities will be strengthened further from Feb 1, 2015.
- SINGAPORE banks are expected to step up their foreign currency bond sales to fund increasing intra- regional expansion. This comes as Asean banks step up bond issuances overall, as loans growth outpace deposit inflows, said Moody’s Investors Service in a report on Monday. Banks in Singapore and Malaysia have increasing foreign-currency funding requirements arising from their active pursuit of intra-regional expansion, added Moody’s.
- Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said on Tuesday that it expects minimal disruption to supplies of bunker shipping fuel in the country’s port following the bankruptcy of Denmark’s OW Bunker. “There are currently more than 60 bunker suppliers in Singapore, and OW Bunker Far East (Singapore) Pte Ltd accounted for less than three per cent of the 42.6 million metric tonnes supplied in Singapore in 2013,” the MPA said in a statement.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Tuesday with the Straits Times Index up 7.38 points to 3,308.38.
Volume was 23.6 million shares worth S$44.9 million.
Gainers outnumbered losers 59 to 50.
