Rally May Stall For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 180 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 5,340-point plateau although investors may cash in on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed hostilities in the Middle East and the corresponding jump in oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index jumped 82.43 points or 1.57 percent to finish at the daily high of 5,342.24 after trading as low as 5,261.12.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly turned lower and spent the balance of the day under water, finishing off session lows.

The Dow sank 130.76 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 52,925.15, while the NASDAQ slumped 302.47 points or 1.16 percent to end at 25,818.69 and the S&P 500 lost 33.58 points or 0.45 percent to close at 7,503.85.

The slump by the NASDAQ came amid a sharp pullback by semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeting by 4.7 percent.

Gold, airline and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable weakness, while energy, pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks turned in strong performances.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday as concerns of fresh U.S.-Iran conflicts surfaced after attacks on at least three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $2.01 or 2.93 percent at $70.56 per barrel.

Energy stocks benefited from that sharp increase by the price of crude oil, although the spike in prices weighed on other sectors.