Proft Taking Expected For Singapore Shares

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in seven straight sessions, adding more than 200 points or 4.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,470-point plateau although it's overdue for consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected especially among the technology shares. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and industrial issues, while the trusts and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 50.55 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 4,472.26 after trading between 4,425.92 and 4,474.12.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT perked 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust increased 0.43 percent, CapitaLand Investment gathered 0.37 percent, City Developments lost 0.70 percent, DBS Group soared 3.01 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 1.08 percent, Keppel DC REIT climbed 0.84 percent, Keppel Ltd accelerated 1.41 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust improved 0.69 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust added 0.47 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.78 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.42 percent, SATS fell 0.28 percent, Seatrium Limited rose 0.40 percent, SembCorp Industries spiked 2.58 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.78 percent, SingTel dipped 0.24 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.28 percent, UOL Group rallied 1.01 percent, Yangzijiang Financial strengthened 0.85 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 4.14 percent and DFI Retail Group, Genting Singapore, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, Thai Beverage, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Comfort DelGro and Wilmar International were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 91.99 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 46,602.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 153.30 points or 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36 and the S&P 500 sank 25.69 points or 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.

A slump by shares of Oracle (ORCL) also weighed on the markets following reports that raised questions about the profitability of its artificial intelligence rollout.

Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has led to the indefinite delay of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Crude oil prices crept slightly higher on Tuesday, despite forecasts of weakening oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.02 or 0.03 percent at $61.71 per barrel.