Singapore Bourse Tipped To Reverse Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 25 points or 0.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,325-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks, industrials and trusts.

For the day, the index slumped 35.99 points or 1.07 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,324.70 after peaking at 3,376.69. Among the actives, Ascendas REIT shed 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust tumbled 1.52 percent, CapitaLand Investment was down 0.52 percent, City Developments surrendered 1.23 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.83 percent, DBS Group plunged 1.97 percent, Emperador advanced 0.99 percent, Hongkong Land eased 0.41 percent, Keppel Corp lost 0.70 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust fell 0.58 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust skidded 0.87 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust tanked 1.79 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and SATS both slumped 0.99 percent, SembCorp Industries dipped 0.53 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slid 0.54 percent, SingTel declined 1.19 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 3.57 percent, United Overseas Bank retreated 1.05 percent, Wilmar International climbed 1.01 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.41 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding sank 0.80 percent and Genting Singapore was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs. The Dow jumped 376.66 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 34,245.93, while the NASDAQ spiked 173.67 points or 1.48 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 46.83 points or 1.14 percent to end at 4,137.29.

The strength on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after last week's weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Trading remained subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Tuesday's closely watched report on consumer price inflation. The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates amid recent speculation the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than anticipated.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday afternoon, unable to held early gains. West Texas Intermediate was down $0.43 or 0.54 percent to $79.29 per barrel, coming off a high of $80.62 earlier in the day.