On Wednesday in Singapore the SGX Nifty closed at 8,011.50 up 22.00 points for a gain of 0.27 percent. The high for the day was 7,996.50 and the low for the day was 7,921.00. The high resistance level for Thursday is 8,185.33 and the low resistance level is 7,708.33. Closely tracking the movement of the India NSE Nifty, the futures SGX Nifty Index continued to gain on Wednesday as oil prices led valuations higher. The NSE Nifty closed at 7,979.90, up 17.25 points for a gain of 0.22 percent. The BSE Sensex closed at 26,064.12 for a gain of 56.82 points or 0.22 percent.

The energy sector primarily led India NSE stocks higher on Wednesday as oil prices reached 2016 highs. India’s largest oil and natural gas provider, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), gained 3.5 percent for the day as oil prices climbed. Meanwhile, as expected the Federal Reserve kept its federal funds rate at 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent and the central bank focus shifted to the Bank of Japan which meets on Thursday.

Effects from monetary policy decisions by the Bank of Japan weighed more heavily on markets globally as the central bank is expected to decrease rates further. A decrease in rates from the Bank of Japan would likely weaken the yen and strengthen the dollar further adding increased pressure on global sales and currency measures.

In other Asian markets, valuations moved broadly lower primarily due to greater affects from the Bank of Japan’s anticipated monetary policy decisions. China’s Shanghai Composite closed at 2,954.01 for a loss of 10.69 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was lower closing at 21,361.60 for a loss of 45.67 points. Japan’s Nikkei closed at 17,290.49 for a loss of 62.79 points.

In the U.S. the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement release on Wednesday afternoon was the greatest market catalyst. The Federal Reserve held its federal funds interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.23 points to close at 18,041.55 for a gain of 0.28%. The S&P 500 also closed higher for the day at 2,095.15 for a gain of 3.45 points or 0.16 percent. Technology stocks continued to trend lower as Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL) all traded lower due to lower sales and earnings. On Wednesday the Nasdaq Composite was down 25.14 points to 4,863.14 for a loss of -0.51 percent.

In Europe market indexes traded modestly higher, moving basically in tandem with U.S. market indexes for the day. The FTSE 100 was higher at 6,284.52 for a gain of 23.60 points or 0.38 percent. France’s CAC was up 26.22 points to 4,559.40 and Germany’s DAX gained 40.24 points to 10,299.83.