Singapore Stock Market May Break Through 5,700-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 85 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 5,675-point plateau and it's expected to see further upside on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat as easing crude oil prices allayed concerns about inflation and the corresponding outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the technology, retail, finance and utility sectors were offset by weakness from the industrial and energy companies.

For the day, the index added 19.12 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 5,675.23 after trading between 5,647.71 and 5,680.79.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Monday and continued to track higher as the day progressed, ending at session highs.

The Dow climbed 366.19 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 52,048.83, while the NASDAQ soared 599.55 points or 2.26 percent to close at a record high of 27,122.09 and the S&P 500 gained 114.20 points or 1.49 percent to end at 7,764.70.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ led the rally amid renewed optimism about outlook for large AI hyperscalers, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Seagate, Intel, Western Digital and Marvell all posting standout gains.

Energy stocks came under pressure as oil prices fell sharply on hopes the diplomatic efforts by U.S. and Iran will help de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October dropped to $95.70 a barrel, losing more than 4.5 percent.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the yield on 10-year US bond dropped below the 5 percent mark on easing inflation concerns.