The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,315-point plateau although it’s likely to run out of steam on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with continued profit taking among technology stocks likely to cap any upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index rose 8.12 points or 0.25 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,314.14 after trading as low as 3,295.80.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.62 percent, while CapitaLand Investment fell 0.37 percent, City Developments gained 0.75 percent, Comfort DelGro slumped 0.73 percent, DBS Group collected 0.25 percent, Emperador spiked 1.16 percent, Genting Singapore tanked 1.14 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 1.53 percent, Keppel DC REIT increased 0.56 percent, Keppel Ltd perked 0.31 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.82 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust and UOL Group both added 0.77 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rallied 1.06 percent, SATS climbed 1.05 percent, Seatrium Limited plummeted 2.63 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 0.99 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering surged 1.49 percent, SingTel gathered 0.38 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.64 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding sank 0.40 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust and Thai Beverage were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be a dichotomy as the major averages opened mixed and finished the same way, with only the Dow finishing in the green.
The Dow rallied 260.88 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 39,411.21, while the NASDAQ tumbled 192.54 points or 1.09 percent to close at 17,496.82 and the S&P 500 fell 16.75 points or 0.31 percent to end at 5,447.87.
The weakness on Wall Street came as technology stocks dragged the markets lower, with Nvidia Corporation, Dell Technologies and QualComm all plummeting on profit taking.
Traders also were looking ahead to Friday’s Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending in May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices gained Monday on optimism about the outlook for demand and likely supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.90 or 1.1 percent at $81.63 a barrel. – RTT News
