Singapore Bourse May Open Under Water On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in three straight sessions, sliding more than 40 points or 1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 4,230-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower ahead of the FOMC rate decision scheduled for later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index fell 11.73 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 4,229.41 after trading between 4,214.38 and 4,238.42.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT added 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Investment gained 0.35 percent, City Developments sank 0.47 percent, Comfort DelGro stumbled 1.84 percent, DBS Group eased 0.12 percent, DFI Retail Group slumped 0.84 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 2.08 percent, Keppel DC REIT shed 0.42 percent, Keppel Ltd skidded 0.49 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.48 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.35 percent, SATS plummeted 2.37 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.65 percent, SembCorp Industries slid 0.13 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering improved 0.57 percent, SingTel declined 0.98 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.27 percent, UOL Group rose 0.14 percent, Wilmar International rallied 1.34 percent, Yangzijiang Financial collected 0.53 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 1.17 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Genting Singapore were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 204.57 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 44,632.99, while the NASDAQ shed 80.29 points or 0.38 percent to close at 21,098.29 and the S&P 500 sank 18.91 points or 0.30 percent to end at 6,370.86.

The pullback on Wall Street may reflected profit taking following the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, which saw the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 reach new record highs.

Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. While the Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.

In economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing consumer confidence in the U.S. saw a modest improvement in July. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. decreased by slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday as the U.S. deadline for Russia to finalize an agreement with Ukraine or face sanctions draws nearer. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $2.81 or 4.21 percent to $69.52 per barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will provide Q2 numbers for unemployment later today; in the previous quarter, the jobless rate was 2.0 percent.