Singapore Stock Market Predicted To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, improving almost 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,140-point plateau and it's likely to open higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to receding treasury levels and an improved outlook for interest rates. 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 properties and mixed performances from the financials, trusts and industrials.

For the day, the index added 11.20 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 3,141.31 after trading between 3,126.67 and 3,145.44. Volume was 1.62 billion shares worth 1.11 billion Singapore dollars. There were 322 gainers and 233 decliners. Among the actives, Ascendas REIT gained 0.39 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 1.08 percent, CapitaLand Investment improved 0.93 percent, City Developments rose 0.38 percent, Comfort DelGro soared 2.27 percent, DBS Group eased 0.12 percent, Genting Singapore added 0.62 percent, Hongkong Land was up 0.24 percent, Keppel Corp perked 0.14 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust accelerated 1.28 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust dropped 0.92 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.67 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation increased 0.66 percent, SATS strengthened 1.12 percent, SembCorp Industries advanced 0.97 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering jumped 1.20 percent, SingTel rallied 1.19 percent, Thai Beverage surged 3.45 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.35 percent, Yangzijiang Financial spiked 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.56 percent and Emperador, Wilmar International and Frasers Logistics were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and mostly remained in the green throughout the day, finishing near session highs.

The Dow surged 423.78 points or 1.31 percent to finish at 32,827.00, while the NASDAQ advanced 89.26 points or 0.85 percent to close at 10,564.52 and the S&P 500 gained 36.25 points or 0.96 percent to end at 3,806.80.

The broader markets benefited from late-day buying for the second straight session, with below average volume potentially exaggerating the upward move.

Earlier in the day, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the U.S. midterm elections later today and the release of consumer price inflation data on Thursday.

The midterm elections will determine whether Democrats maintain control of Congress, while the inflation data could affect the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices saw considerable volatility on Monday amid uncertainty about the outlook for Chinese energy demand due to conflicting reports about the country's COVID-19 policies. After spiking earlier, West Texas Intermediate finished lower by $0.82 or 0.9 percent at $91.79 a barrel. Closer to home, Singapore will see October results for its consumer confidence index later today; in September, the index score was 117.2.