Singapore Stock Market May Build On Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 80 points or 2.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,310-point plateau and it's predicted to extend its gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected ahead of key inflation data later in the week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, REITS and industrials, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 17.48 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 3,309.87 after trading between 3,293.70 and 3,312.87.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT soared 1.69 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust improved 0.50 percent, CapitaLand Investment sank 0.30 percent, City Developments fell 0.28 percent, DBS Group gathered 0.29 percent, Emperador dropped 0.96 percent, Genting Singapore and Singapore Technologies Engineering both gained 0.54 percent, Hongkong Land climbed 0.85 percent, Keppel Corp and Keppel DC REIT both spiked 1.41 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust perked 0.11 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust increased 0.45 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust added 0.61 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.62 percent, SATS rallied 1.11 percent, Seatrium Limited advanced 0.74 percent, SembCorp Industries skyrocketed 8.75 percent, SingTel jumped 1.23 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 4.20 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.52 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 5.06 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Comfort DelGro and DFI Retail were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely stayed that way, finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 407.51 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 35,473.13, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.16 points or 0.61 percent to close at 13,994.40 and the S&P 500 gained 40.41 points or 0.90 percent to end at 4,518.44.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as investors indulged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses.

The upside was measured, however, ahead of crucial reports on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week, which could affect the Federal Reserve's plan for interest rates.

Most economists expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Fed next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday, coming off the four-month highs they touched last week. The dollar's strength ahead of inflation data weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $0.88 or 1.1 percent at $81.94 a barrel.