Bargain Hunting Likely To Boost Singapore Shares

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in seven straight sessions, sinking almost 170 points or 5.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,150-point plateau although it's overdue for support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic after heavy selling in the previous week. The European and U.S. markets finished mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index lost 19.90 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 3,154.03 after trading between 3,149.22 and 3,172.91.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT fell 0.37 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 1.05 percent, CapitaLand Investment surrendered 1.30 percent, City Developments slid 0.30 percent, Comfort DelGro plunged 1.67 percent, DBS Group and Mapletree Logistics Trust both dropped 0.61 percent, Genting Singapore tanked 1.62 percent, Hongkong Land plummeted2.54 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.30 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust shed 0.45 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.49 percent, SATS lost 0.40 percent, Seatrium Limited tumbled 1.47 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 1.12 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering skidded 0.79 percent, Thai Beverage advanced 0.88 percent, Wilmar International climbed 1.13 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding retreated 1.19 percent and Emperador, SingTel, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Yangzijiang Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, slumped midday but recovered late, although the Dow still finished in the red.

The Dow shed 36.97 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,463.69, while the NASDAQ jumped 206.81 points or 1.56 percent to end at 13,497.59 and the S&P 500 gained 30.06 points or 0.69 percent to close at 4,399.77.

The spike by the NASDAQ came as traders picked up tech stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the index bouncing off its lowest closing level in two months.

Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) helped to fuel the tech rally after reporting standout gains, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) weighed on the Dow.

Traders continued to look ahead to the economic summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where major central bankers are congregating later in the week to deliberate on monetary policy.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand, although the extension of production cuts by OPEC helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $80.72 a barrel. WTI Crude futures for October settled at $80.12 a barrel, down $0.54 or 0.7 percent.