The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 0.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,140-point plateau although it’s likely to rebound again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing treasury yields and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the property stocks and mixed performances from the financials and industrials.
For the day, the index slumped 19.22 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 3,140.31 after trading between 3,137.49 and 3,172.45.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT retreated 1.04 percent, while CapitaLand Investment rallied 1.03 percent, City Developments eased 0.16 percent, DBS Group dropped 0.65 percent, Hongkong Land tanked 2.52 percent, Keppel DC REIT plunged 2.84 percent, Keppel Ltd shed 0.44 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tumbled 1.42 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust plummeted 3.67 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surrendered 1.92 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation declined 0.77 percent, SATS slumped 0.72 percent, Seatrium Limited surged 3.85 percent, SembCorp Industries lost 0.37 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering sank 0.53 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.30 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.56 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding climbed 0.60 percent and Emperador, Genting Singapore, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Comfort DelGro, SingTel, Thai Beverage and DFI Retail Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened flat on Monday and stayed that way for much of the session before a late surge sent them solidly into the green.
The Dow rallied 224.02 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 38,333.45, while the NASDAQ jumped 172.68 points or 1.12 percent to close at 15,628.04 and the S&P 500 gained 36.96 points or 0.76 percent to end at 4,927.93.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected a notable pullback by treasury yields, which gave ground after moving higher last Friday. Yields fell to new lows and stocks rallied late in the session as the Treasury Department reduced its estimates for first quarter borrowing.
Earlier in the day, traders seemed reluctant to make significant ahead of several key events this week, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking for clues about the likelihood of rate cuts at upcoming meetings. Recent economic data has led many economists to believe the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in March, as traders had previously hoped.
Crude oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about the outlook for demand outweighed the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while a firmer dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March slipped $1.23 or 1.6 percent to settle at $76.88 a barrel. — RTT News
