Singapore Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has opened higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had dipped more than 10 points or 0.2 percent. The STI now sits just above the 5,420-point plateau although it's likely to open under water on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising oil prices and ahead of this week's U.S. rate decision. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the property, communications and utility companies were capped by weakness among the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.

For the day, the index perked 7.02 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 5,422.16 after trading between 5,365.33 and 5,426.45.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and mostly stayed under water, finishing near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 652.84 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 52,215.16, while the NASDAQ sank 53.56 points or 0.21 percent to close at 25,955.34 and the S&P 500 lost 39.75 points or 0.52 percent to end at 7,623.68.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ shed 0.7 percent and the S&P fell 0.5 percent.

Lingering concerns about the artificial intelligence trade contributed to the weakness on Wall Street along with a continued increase in the price of crude oil.

Crude oil prices spiked on Friday on rising fears of fresh U.S.-Iran conflict, as well as the ongoing Houthi-Saudi Arabia violence. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $3.54 or 3.56 percent at $103.01 per barrel.

However, traders were reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of several key events this week, including the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday and leave rates unchanged.

Closer to home, Singapore will release September data for industrial production later today; in August, production was down 0.5 percent on month and up 15.4 percent on year.