The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,210-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European and U.S. bourses were mostly lower and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues, RTTNews reported.
For the day, the index improved 8.50 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,211.09 after trading between 3,188.44 and 3,211.14.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 0.50 percent, CapitaLand Investment lost 0.58 percent, City Developments sank 0.73 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.77 percent, DBS Group rose 0.26 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.97 percent, Hongkong Land surged 2.53 percent, Keppel Corp added 0.46 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust shed 0.59 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.86 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.41 percent, SATS skyrocketed 6.30 percent, SembCorp Industries eased 0.20 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was down 0.27 percent, SingTel fell 0.39 percent, United Overseas Bank slid 0.32 percent, Yangzijiang Financial retreated 1.43 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding declined 1.57 percent and Wilmar International, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Thai Beverage, Emperador and Frasers Logistics were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly headed south. They staged a modest recovery as the day progressed, although the Dow never managed to escape from negative territory.
