Lower Open Called For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 55 points or 1.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,030-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed trade and tariff concerns. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the banks and retailers were offset by weakness from the properties and REITs.

For the day, the index gained 18.24 points or 0.45 percent to finish at the daily high of 4,031.86 after trading as low as 4,011.88.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT lost 0.73 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.45 percent, CapitaLand Investment shed 0.74 percent, City Developments retreated 0.93 percent, Comfort DelGro fell 0.69 percent, DBS Group rallied 1.02 percent, DFI Retail Group surged 3.12 percent, Genting Singapore added 0.69 percent, Hongkong Land plummeted 2.05 percent, Keppel DC REIT stumbled 1.30 percent, Keppel Ltd dipped 0.39 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust sank 0.79 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slid 0.49 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.85 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.55 percent, Seatrium Limited tanked 1.45 percent, SembCorp Industries soared 2.94 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering perked 0.26 percent, SingTel jumped 1.04 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.83 percent, Wilmar International gathered 0.34 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plunged 1.68 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Frasers Centrepoint Trust both slumped 0.90 percent and SATS and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water and trended steadily lower as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 422.17 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 44,406.36, while the NASDAQ sank 188.59 points or 0.92 percent to end at 20,412.52 and the S&P 500 dropped 49.37 points or 0.79 percent to close at 6,229.98.

The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflect profit taking following the strong upward move seen over the past few sessions.

Further selling pressure was generated in afternoon trading after President Donald Trump shared screen shots on Truth Social of letter sent to various world leaders about new tariffs set to be imposed on August 1st.

Imports from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan are now set to face 25 percent tariffs, according to the letters Trump posted.

Crude oil prices edged higher Monday, shrugging off oversupply concerns triggered by OPEC's decision to accelerate its production increase starting in August. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose $0.93 to settle at $67.93 per barrel.