Lower Open Called For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market turned lower again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 25 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,595-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to a combination of weak economic and earnings news, while profit taking may also be in order. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the properties and mixed performances from the financials, industrials and trusts.

For the day, the index eased 0.44 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 3,595.47 after trading between 3,591.15 and 3,622.71.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust skidded 0.95 percent, while CapitaLand Investment fell 0.66 percent, City Developments declined 1.34 percent, Comfort DelGro and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust both lost 0.69 percent, DBS Group climbed 0.69 percent, Emperador spiked 1.18 percent, Genting Singapore tumbled 1.73 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.76 percent, Keppel DC REIT jumped 1.79 percent, Keppel Ltd slumped 1.23 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slid 0.41 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust shed 0.70 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.39 percent, SATS rallied 1.10 percent, SembCorp Industries stumbled 1.62 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.86 percent, SingTel advanced 0.63 percent, Wilmar International retreated 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Financial soared 2.47 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 5.35 percent Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, Fraser and Centrepoint Trust, Seatrium Limited and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and saw all of them finish well under water.

The Dow tumbled 324.80 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 42,740..42, while the NASDAQ slumped 187.10 points or 1.01 percent to close at 18,315.59 and the S&P 500 sank 44.59 points or 0.76 percent to end at 5,815.26.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking as traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets after the Dow and S&P hit record closing highs on Monday.

Corporate earnings also weighed, led lower by the likes of UnitedHealth (UNH) and Citigroup (C), although Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) rallied on its results.

On the U.S. economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that regional manufacturing activity has returned to contraction in October.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday as fears about supply disruptions faded on reports that Israel will avoid targeting Iran's oil sites. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November sank $3.25 or 4.4 percent at $70.58 a barrel.