Singapore Stock Market May Test 5,300-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 100 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 5,260-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from the technology and oil stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and property stocks, while the industrials were mixed. For the day, the index added 15.52 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 5,259.81 after trading between 5,233.21 and 5,261.37. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT added 0.40 percent, while CapitaLand Investment climbed 0.80 percent, City Developments perked 0.13 percent, DBS Group rose 0.22 percent, DFI Retail Group fell 0.27 percent, Keppel DC REIT tumbled 1.33 percent, Keppel Ltd dropped 0.64 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.78 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust sank 0.52 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation improved 0.71 percent, SATS increased 0.67 percent, Seatrium Limited slumped 1.01 percent, SembCorp Industries plummeted 3.85 percent, Singapore Air jumped 1.31 percent, Singapore Exchange gained 0.37 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering vaulted 2.03 percent, SingTel shed 0.45 percent, Thai Beverage rallied 2.27 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.70 percent and UOL Group, Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Logistics Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Genting Singapore and Hongkong Land were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely spent most of the day in the green, ending near daily highs.

The Dow climbed 155.84 points or 0.29 percent to finish at a record 53,055.91, while the NASDAQ jumped 288.49 points or 1.12 percent to close at 26,121.16 and the S&P 500 gained 54.19 points or 0.72 percent to end at 7,537.43.

The upward move on Wall Street came amid strength among technology stocks, with computer hardware stocks turning in some of the best performances as the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index shot up by 3.4 percent.

Substantial strength was also visible among networking and semiconductor stocks, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.8 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed slightly in June, although it was in line with expectations.

Crude oil prices ticked lower on Monday as oil tanker traffic across the Strait of Hormuz increased gradually, while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to increase output. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.15 or 0.22 percent at $68.54 per barrel.