Singapore Bourse May Move Back Above 3,200-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 20 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,190-point plateau and it's poised to add to its winnings again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, with apprehension reigning over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the properties and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index perked 1.10 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,190.11 after trading between 3,175.76 and 3,192.25.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT tumbled 1.86 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust plummeted 2.49 percent, CapitaLand Investment gained 0.30 percent, City Developments slumped 1.16 percent, Comfort DelGro skidded 0.96 percent, DBS Group added 0.32 percent, Genting Singapore sank 0.51 percent, Hongkong Land fell 0.23 percent, Keppel Corp lost 0.31 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust declined 1.20 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust retreated 1.19 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.16 percent, SATS and SingTel both shed 0.40 percent, SembCorp Industries advanced 0.37 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rallied 0.55 percent, Thai Beverage dropped 0.90 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.50 percent, Wilmar International jumped 0.77 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 1.49 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Industrial Trust, UOL Group, Frasers Logistics and Emperador were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing with slight gains.

The Dow rose 10.42 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 33,573.28, while the NASDAQ added 46.99 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,276.42 and the S&P 500 picked up 10.06 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,283.85.

Traders remained reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $71.74 a barrel.