Singapore Stock Market May Reclaim 3,200-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than a dozen points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,185-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and falling bond yields. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index perked 2.72 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,187.02 after trading between 3,170.12 and 3,213.30.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT added 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand Investment gained 0.33 percent, City Developments accelerated 1.10 percent, Comfort DelGro rallied 0.70 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.15 percent, Genting Singapore soared 1.52 percent, Hongkong Land slid 0.29 percent, Keppel DC REIT fell 0.54 percent, Keppel Ltd and Yangzijiang Financial both tumbled 1.56 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust shed 0.66 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.40 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.08 percent, SATS surged 2.94 percent, Seatrium Limited sank 0.88 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 0.94 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering spiked 1.32 percent, SingTel strengthened 0.85 percent, Thai Beverage dropped 0.93 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.57 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 1.29 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Emperador were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but trended steadily upward as the day progressed and finished solidly in the green.

The Dow climbed 216.90 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 37,683.01, while the NASDAQ surged 319.70 points or 2.20 percent to end at 14,843.77 and the S&P 500 rallied 66.30 points or 1.41 percent to close at 4,763.54.

A drop in bond yields, and optimism about the outlook for stocks despite recent uncertainty about the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts helped push stock prices up.

The Dow was weighed down by Boeing shares, which fell 8 percent after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to ground dozens of the company's 737 Max 9 aircraft after a door plug blew out in the middle of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as Saudi Arabia's decision to cut prices offset concerns about an escalation in the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February ended down $3.04 or 4.4 percent at $70.77 a barrel.