TSX Pares Early Gains, Ends Just Modestly Higher

The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 75 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,490-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The STI finished slightly lower following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues. For the day, the index slipped 4.11 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 4,488.13 after trading between 4,457.14 and 4,490.55. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT slipped 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust added 0.43 percent, DBS Group stumbled 1.29 percent, DFI Retail Group and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both gained 0.30 percent, Genting Singapore surged 3.36 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.50 percent, Keppel DC REIT fell 0.42 percent, Keppel Ltd lost 0.49 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 0.99 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation soared 2.31 percent, SATS rallied 0.86 percent, Seatrium Limited jumped 0.93 percent, SembCorp Industries rose 0.16 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering plunged 1.33 percent, SingTel slumped 0.65 percent, United Overseas Bank skidded 0.53 percent, Wilmar International advanced 0.61 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 51.42 percent and CapitaLand Investment, City Developments, Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, UOL Group and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 10 points or 0.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,630-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and telecoms and mixed performances from the plantations and industrials. For the day, the index added 8.25 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,627.38 after trading between 1,620.49 and 1,633.52. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail and CIMB Group both gained 0.66 percent, while AMMB Holdings increased 0.70 percent, Axiata surged 3.85 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.27 percent, Gamuda advanced 0.79 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 0.72 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.19 percent, Maxis soared 3.04 percent, Maybank collected 0.30 percent, MISC spiked 2.88 percent, MRDIY declined 1.23 percent, Nestle Malaysia sank 0.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 2.82 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.69 percent, PPB Group added 0.69 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.11 percent, QL Resources fell 0.24 percent, RHB Bank jumped 1.48 percent, SD Guthrie improved 0.74 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.65 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.55 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 0.91 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 2.73 percent, YTL Power retreated 1.28 percent and Petronas Gas, Public Bank and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The Japan stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had plunged nearly 2,200 points or 4.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 50,900-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the automobile producers were mixed. For the day, the index jumped 635.39 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 50,911.76 after trading between 50,392.44 and 50,969.50. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.11 percent, while Mazda Motor stumbled 2.06 percent, Toyota Motor rose 0.42 percent, Honda Motor plunged 4.67 percent, Softbank Group spiked 2.56 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial both collected 0.67 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.65 percent, Mitsubishi Electric gathered 0.33 percent, Sony Group improved 0.59 percent, Panasonic Holdings perked 0.15 percent and Hitachi rallied 2.15 percent. The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely spent most of the sessions firmly in positive territory.

The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had plummeted almost 220 points or 5 percent. The KOSPI sits just beneath the 4,075-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism that the end of the U.S. government shutdown in near. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead. The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday with gains across the board, especially among the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials. For the day, the index surged 119.48 points or 3.02 percent to finish at 4,073.24 after trading between 3,984.24 and 4,092.91. Volume was 334 million shares worth 16.5 trillion won. There were 804 gainers and 98 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.81 percent, while KB Financial spiked 4.28 percent, Hana Financial vaulted 4.57 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 2.76 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 2.94 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.47 percent, SK Hynix rallied 4.48 percent, LG Chem expanded 3.93 percent, Lotte Chemical skyrocketed 7.12 percent, SK Innovation accelerated 3.97 percent, POSCO Holdings improved 1.51 percent, SK Telecom added 0.94 percent, KEPCO soared 4.88 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 3.62 percent, Hyundai Motor increased 2.46 percent, Kia Motors surged 3.27 percent and Naver was unchanged.

Japan will on Tuesday release September figures for current account, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The current account surplus is seen at 2.26 trillion yen, down from 246.35 trillion yen in the previous month.

The Switzerland market turned in a fine performance on Monday, in line with markets across the globe, amid hopes the U.S. government shutdown will end soon.

European stocks closed on a strong note on Monday and most of the major markets rebounded from multi-week lows posted in the previous session, as rising prospects of an end to the government shutdown in the U.S., helped underpin sentiment.

After with a strong positive gap and moving further up north, the Canadian market remains high up in positive territory around noon on Monday with stocks from materials and technology sectors scoring impressive gains. The mood in the market is quite bullish amid prospects of an end to the US government shutdown.