Singapore Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 65 points or 1.3 percent to a fresh record closing high. The Straight Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,810-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to geopolitical concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down, likely consigning Asian markets at records highs to profit taking.

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

For the day, the index advanced 40.35 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 4,807.13 after trading between 4,778.31 and 4,809.35.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT strengthened 1.05 percent, while CapitaLand Investment gained 0.34 percent, City Developments increased 0.56 percent, DBS Group climbed 1.04 percent, DFI Retail Group fell 0.25 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.50 percent, Keppel DC REIT gathered 0.45 percent, Keppel Ltd surged 3.14 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.68 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust jumped 1.49 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation expanded 1.11 percent, SATS was up 0.26 percent, Seatrium Limited spiked 2.23 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 0.33 percent, Singapore Airlines shed 0.47 percent, Singapore Exchange vaulted 1.14 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.43 percent, SingTel advanced 0.90 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.28 percent, UOL Group accelerated 1.80 percent, Wilmar International rallied 1.27 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 2.47 percent and Genting Singapore, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Industrial Trust and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent most of the balance of the day in the red, finishing off session lows.

The Dow dropped 398.21 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 49,191.99, while the NASDAQ sank 24.03 points or 0.10 percent to close at 23,709.87 and the S&P 500 dipped 13.53 points or 0.19 percent to end at 6,963.74.

The choppy trading by the broader markets reflected uncertainty about the near-term outlook amid rising geopolitical tensions around the world and a flurry of proposals by President Donald Trump.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Tuesday, extending a recent surge amid increasing geopolitical risks due to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have raised output-and-supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.55 or 2.61 percent at $61.05 per barrel.