The Singapore stock market on Monday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 15 points or 0.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,280-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC policy announcement. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished barely higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financials, trusts, properties and industrials.
For the day, the index picked up 1.95 points or 0.06 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,282.05 after moving as low as 3,264.11.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment fell 0.38 percent, while City Developments climbed 0.66 percent, Comfort DelGro spiked 1.35 percent, DBS Group rallied 1.05 percent, Emperador retreated 2.27 percent, Genting Singapore added 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land slumped 0.96 percent, Keppel DC REIT advanced 0.59 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust jumped 0.79 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.88 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.74 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.42 percent, Seatrium Limited surged 4.49 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 025 percent, SingTel tumbled 2.49 percent, Wilmar International shed 0.60 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 2.69 percent and SATS, Thai Beverage, SembCorp Industries, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Keppel Ltd, DFI Retail and Yangzijiang Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed mostly in the green, ending slightly higher.
The Dow jumped 146.43 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 38,386.09, while the NASDAQ advanced 55.18 points or 0.35 percent to close at 15,983.08 and the S&P 500 added 16.21 points or 0.32 percent to end at 5,116.17.
The modestly higher close on Wall Street came as stocks continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen last week, which came amid a positive reaction to upbeat tech earnings.
Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.
Oil futures settled lower on Monday amid worries about growth and outlook for oil demand and the rising possibility of the Federal Reserve delaying interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $1.22 or 1.45 percent at $82.63 a barrel. – RTT News
