Singapore Shares May Head South Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 25 points or 0.5 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 5,000-point plateau although it's likely to open under water on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to recent developments in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The STI finished slightly higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index added 6.14 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 5,004.07 after trading between 4,978.66 and 5,012.59.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT slipped 0.39 percent, while CapitaLand Investment gained 0.35 percent, City Developments soared 4.18 percent, DBS Group eased 0.02 percent, DFI Retail Group advanced 0.74 percent, Genting Singapore sank 0.70 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.62 percent, Keppel DC REIT jumped 1.28 percent, Keppel Ltd lost 0.59 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dipped 0.22 percent, SATS fell 0.56 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 2.89 percent, SembCorp Industries slumped 1.00 percent, Singapore Airlines was down 0.15 percent, Singapore Exchange spiked 1.55 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering climbed 1.06 percent, SingTel added 0.62 percent, UOL Group surged 5.12 percent, Wilmar International rallied 1.30 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding dropped 0.73 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Thai Beverage, United Overseas Bank and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly turned lower and ended in the red, although off of session lows.

The Dow dipped 4.87 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 49,442.56, while the NASDAQ shed 64.09 points or 0.26 percent to close at 24,404.39 and the S&P 500 sank 16.92 points or 0.24 percent to end at 7,109.14.

The modest weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the re-escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the latest developments in the Middle East.

Over the weekend, Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz and purportedly fired on tankers in the vital waterway, blaming the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for the moves.

The latest threats combined with news that U.S. forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, contributed to a significant rebound by the price of crude oil.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday after the U.S. seized an Iranian cargo ship and Iran vowed to retaliate, renewing supply-related concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $5.54 or 6.61 percent at $89.39 per barrel.