Singapore Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 35 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,100-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on profit taking and weak retail earnings. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and a mixed performance from the financial shares.

For the day, the index shed 15.24 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 3,096.34 after trading between 3,092.08 and 3,114.54.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rallied 1.44 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust increased 0.53 percent, CapitaLand Investment collected 0.33 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.73 percent, DBS Group tumbled 1.91 percent, Genting Singapore gathered 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land and Frasers Logistics advanced 0.91 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.16 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust gained 0.72 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Jardine Cycle both improved 0.88 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust rose 0.63 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation retreated 0.93 percent, SATS accelerated 0.73 percent, SembCorp Industries sank 0.40 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was up 0.26 percent, SingTel plunged 2.60 percent, Wilmar International climbed 1.10 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.56 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding declined 0.68 percent and City Developments, Emperador, Seatrium Limited, Thai Beverage and Keppel DC REIT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow dropped 62.75 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 35,088.29, while the NASDAQ tumbled 84.55 points or 0.59 percent to end at 14,199.98 and the S&P 500 fell 9.19 points or 0.20 percent to close at 4,538.19.

The pullback on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which has lifted the major averages to their best levels in over three months.

A negative reaction to some of the latest earnings news from major retailers also weighed on Wall Street, with disappointing results from the likes of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Kohl's (KSS), Lowe's (LOW) and Best Buy (BBY).

The markets did not show much reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, which said Fed officials expect to keep interest rates at a restrictive level for "some time."

Crude oil futures settled slightly lower Tuesday ahead of this weekend's OPEC meeting as investors wait to see if more production cuts may be in store. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January eased $0.06 at $77.77 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release Q3 numbers for gross domestic product later this morning. GDP is expected to rise 1.0 percent on quarter and 0.7 percent on year after adding 0.1 percent on quarter and 0.5 percent on year in the three months prior.