Singapore Stock Market May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had lost more than 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,235-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology and oil companies expected to be under pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday with gains across the board, especially among the financials and trusts.

For the day, the index climbed 35.23 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 3.233.33 after trading between 3,198.64 and 3,242.45.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust collected 0.51 percent, while CapitaLand Investment soared 1.86 percent, City Developments and UOL Group both gathered 0.52 percent, Comfort DelGro rallied 1.44 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.63 percent, Genting Singapore rose 0.56 percent, Keppel DC REIT improved 1.19 percent, Keppel Ltd surged 1.92 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust jumped 1.57 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust perked 0.43 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 1.39 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Wilmar International both advanced 0.88 percent, SATS accelerated 1.60 percent, Seatrium Limited skyrocketed 3.85 percent, SembCorp Industries gained 0.76 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering increased 1.00 percent, SingTel added 0.80 percent, Yangzijiang Financial strengthened 1.56 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Hongkong Land, Thai Beverage, Emperador and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the green before a late slump sent them all under water at the close.

The Dow shed 31.31 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 39,282.33, while the NASDAQ lost 68.80 points or 0.42 percent to close at 16,315.70 and the S&P 500 fell 14.61 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,203.58.

The late-day weakness on Wall Street may have reflected concerns about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, leading to the bridge's collapse.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in February. Also, the Conference Board noted a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in March.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday with traders assessing oil demand and supply positions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.33 at $81.62 a barrel.