Losses May Accelerate For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market gave up less than a single point, but that was enough to snap the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 100 points or 3.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,375-point plateau and it's tipped to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with oil and technology stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished barely lower on Tuesday as losses from the plantations were offset by gains among the financials and industrials.

For the day, the index eased 0.19 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 3,373.79 after trading between 3,362.63 and 3,385.68.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT jumped 1.07 percent, while CapitaLand Investment increased 0.59 percent, City Developments gathered 0.27 percent, DBS Group rose 0.41 percent, Emperador climbed 0.98 percent, Hongkong Land surged 3.09 percent, Keppel Corp and UOL Group both perked 0.14 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.61 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust was up 0.02 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.15 percent, SATS added 0.71 percent, Seatrium Limited slumped 1.42 percent, SembCorp Industries soared 2.39 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.80 percent, SingTel sank 0.75 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.26 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 1.52 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained 0.65 percent and Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Genting Singapore were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished the same way.

The Dow advanced 71.15 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,630.68, while the NASDAQ sank 62.11 points or 0.43 percent to close at 14,283.91 and the S&P 500 fell 12.23 points or 0.27 percent to end at 4,576.73.

The modest weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last month.

Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in July. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday thanks to a firm dollar and data showing a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.43 at $81.37 a barrel.