Singapore Bourse May Extend Its Losses On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in consecutive trading days, sliding more than 30 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,240-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of weakness ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financials, support from the REITs and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.

For the day, the index lost 19.92 points or 0.47 percent to finish at the daily low of 4,241.14 after peaking at 4,270.56.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT added 0.72 percent, while CapitaLand Investment was down 0.35 percent, City Developments contracted 0.31 percent, Comfort DelGro lost 0.61 percent, DBS Group dropped 0.82 percent, DFI Retail Group and Hongkong Land both jumped 1.13 percent, Genting Singapore and United Overseas Bank both sank 0.67 percent, Keppel DC REIT rallied 2.16 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust increased 0.78 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust gained 0.49 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.84 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dipped 0.47 percent, SATS fell 0.59 percent, Seatrium Limited eased 0.41 percent, SembCorp Industries declined 0.52 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering stumbled 1.80 percent, SingTel slid 0.49 percent, Thai Beverage tanked 1.05 percent, UOL Group slumped 1.00 percent, Wilmar International shed 0.66 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding improved 0.79 percent and Yangzijiang Financial, Keppel Ltd, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished little changed and on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow slumped 64.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 44,837.56, while the NASDAQ gained 70.27 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record high 21,178.58 and the S&P perked 1.13 points or 0.02 percent to end at 6,389.77, also a record.

The modest strength on Wall Street followed news the U.S. and the European Union struck a last-minute trade agreement and reports suggest the U.S. and China are likely to extend their tariff truce for another 90 days.

However, buying interest was subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later this week. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus in the coming days along with earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).

Crude oil price surged on Monday after the US announced a tariff framework agreement with the EU, cooling fears of a big tariff war. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.72 or 2.64 percent to $66.88 per barrel.