Singapore Bourse May Reclaim Support At 4,000 Points

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr, the Singapore stock market had ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 55 points or 1.5 percent. The Straits Time Index now sits just above the 3,970-point plateau although it may bounce higher again.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with bargain hunting likely on the menu after heavy selling in the previous sessions. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Friday following losses from the properties, trusts and industrials, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index slipped 9.14 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 3,972.43 after trading between 3,969.01 and 4,005.18.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT gained 0.38 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.08 percent, City Developments fell 0.40 percent, Comfort DelGro skidded 0.68 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.24 percent, DFI Retail Group plummeted 2.05 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.66 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 2.04 percent, Keppel DC REIT tanked 1.83 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust declined 0.79 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and SembCorp Industries both sank 0.47 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust slumped 0.76 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.46 percent, Seatrium Limited surrendered 1.40 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rallied 0.89 percent, SingTel advanced 0.88 percent, Thai Beverage retreated 0.97 percent, Wilmar International added 0.60 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.27 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 1.25 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Keppel Ltd, SATS and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened lower on Monday but tracked higher throughout the session to finish mixed.

The Dow jumped 417.86 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 42,001.76, the NASDAQ dipped 23.70 points or 0.14 percent to close at 17,299.29 and the S&P 500 added 30.91 points or 0.55 percent to end at 5,611.85.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners, which are set to begin Wednesday

Traders worry Trump's tariffs and possible retaliatory actions by targeted countries will fuel inflation, keep interest rates elevated and drag down global economic growth.

On the U.S. economic front, MNI Indicators released a report showing an unexpected increase by its reading on Chicago-area business activity in the month of March.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Monday on concerns that supply may not be able to keep up with demand. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was up $0.17 or 0.25 percent to $69.53 per barrel.