Singapore Stock Market Expected To Head South Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the four-day slide in which it had slumped more than 50 points or 1.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,280-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns over interest rates and possible recession. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and industrials, while the REITs and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index added 11.48 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 3,281.99 after trading between 3,273.99 and 3,309.68.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT slumped 1.05 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 0.99 percent, CapitaLand Investment rallied 1.08 percent, City Developments accelerated 1.87 percent, Comfort DelGro soared 2.52 percent, DBS Group improved 0.40 percent, Genting Singapore dropped 0.88 percent, Hongkong Land lost 0.45 percent, Keppel Corp advanced 0.81 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust skidded 1.14 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust retreated 1.68 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gained 0.57 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation added 0.64 percent, SATS surged 3.15 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 1.17 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gathered 0.28 percent, SingTel rose 0.39 percent, Thai Beverage tumbled 2.34 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.14 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 2.42 percent and Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial and Emperador were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and moved deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 367.17 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 33,684.17, while the NASDAQ sank 132.09 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,080.51 and the S&P 500 dropped 48.29 points or 1.16 percent to close at 4,119.58.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Concerns about lawmakers' struggles to reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling also weighed on Wall Street. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations by June 1.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in March. Also, the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in March.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a potential recession in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $4.00 or 5.3 percent to $71.66 a barrel, the lowest close since March 24.