Singapore Bourse May Test Support At 3,200 Points

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 15 points or 0.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,220-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns for an economic slowdown and on the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.

For the day, the index dropped 27.27 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 3,222.26 after trading between 3,205.58 and 3,225.92. Volume was 1.34 billion shares worth 975.18 million Singapore dollars. There were 349 decliners and 159 gainers. Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slipped 0.48 percent, while CapitaLand Investment slumped 1.06 percent, City Developments plunged 1.70 percent, Comfort DelGro and UOL Group both fell 0.70 percent, DBS Group dropped 0.88 percent, Genting Singapore slid 0.63 percent, Hongkong Land rose 0.20 percent, Keppel Corp sank 0.83 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust retreated 1.07 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust lost 0.77 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust plummeted 3.37 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation tanked 1.48 percent, SATS declined 1.22 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.29 percent, Singapore Exchange tumbled 1.45 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dipped 0.52 percent, SingTel was down 0.38 percent, Thai Beverage shed 0.78 percent, United Overseas Bank skidded 1.02 percent, Wilmar International eased 0.25 percent, Yangzijiang Financial surrendered 1.30 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 1.03 percent and Ascendas REIT was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened sharply lower, staged a recovery midday but then faded into the close.

The Dow dropped 184.41 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 32,098.99, while the NASDAQ dropped 124.04 points or 1.02 percent to close at 12,017.67 and the S&P 500 lost 27.05 points or 0.67 percent end at 4,030.61.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates continued to weigh on the markets following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech last week at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.

Powell's remarks were more hawkish than investors would have liked, signaling the Fed is likely to continue raising interest rates aggressively and maintain rates at a high level for an extended period. Trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly employment report - which also may help to determine the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher on Monday amid indications that OPEC will decrease production if a deal with Iran to lift sanctions comes to pass. Crude oil for October delivery surged $3.95 or 4 percent to $97.01 a barrel.