Market Update: STI, Asian markets on hold for CNY holiday break

Major Asian markets, including the Straits Times Index, were closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year holiday .

China’s stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are also closed through to February 17 for the holiday.

Analysts are not predicting much of an awakening when trading does return, with much lower than average liquidity at present.

Moreover, investors have little cause to chase the market in the absence of significant macro developments.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, US stocks shook off declines at the early part of the week with the S&P 500 climbing at 3,934.83 up by about 18.45 points or 0.47%, the NASDAQ ending at 14,095.47 with an upturn of 69.70 points or 0.50%, while the Dow Jones Industrial had an uptick of 27.70 points or 0.09% closing at 31,458.40.

London's blue-chip index continued its upswing despite the new data that showed the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) slumped by a record 9.9% in 2020 as a virus-induced recession swept the country.

The FTSE 100 jumped by 61.07 points or 0.94% closing at 6,589.79. The FTSE 250 also rose by 19.62 points or 0.09% reaching 21,037.47.