Singapore Stocks Tipped To Bounce Higher Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,240-point plateau although it's likely to see renewed support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the properties and trusts, gains from the banks and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index fell 6.31 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 3,239.66 after trading between 3,234.56 and 3,255.61.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT surrendered 1.45 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust declined 1.49 percent, CapitaLand Investment lost 0.28 percent, City Developments retreated 1.34 percent, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.80 percent, DBS Group added 0.72 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 2.00 percent, Keppel Corp sank 0.67 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tumbled 1.78 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust skidded 0.90 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust slumped 1.25 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.41 percent, SATS plummeted 4.29 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 0.31 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.60 percent, SingTel tanked 1.89 percent, Thai Beverage advanced 0.75 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.16 percent, Wilmar International jumped 1.73 percent, Yangzijiang Financial climbed 1.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding improved 0.74 percent and Emperador and Genting Singapore were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened flat on Monday but accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 528 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 34,005.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 139.12 points or 1.26 percent to end at 11,143.74 and the S&P 500 jumped 56.18 points or 1.43 percent to close at 3,990.56.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following last week's notable decline.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a survey from the New York Federal Reserve showing inflation expectations decreased at the short, medium, and longer terms in November.

Traders also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy decision on Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes to 50 basis points, traders have recently expressed concerns about how much further the Fed will need to raise rates in order to contain inflation.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Monday on supply concerns following the continued closure of a pipeline carrying Canadian heavy crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast of Mexico. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $2.15 or 3 percent at $73.17 a barrel.