Singapore Bourse May Find Traction On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, stumbling almost 100 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,165-point plateau although it's looking at a steady start on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting expected - especially among the oil and technology stocks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and industrials.

For the day, the index lost 16.47 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 3,165.50 after trading between 3,158.32 and 3,181.61. Volume was 1.32 billion shares worth 1.45 billion Singapore dollars. There were 280 decliners and 217 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT skidded 0.74 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust plunged 1.51 percent, CapitaLand Investment and Venture Corporation both retreated 0.85 percent, City Developments eased 0.13 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.51 percent, Emperador surrendered 1.00 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 1.28 percent, Hongkong Land dropped 0.64 percent, Keppel Corp lost 0.57 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tumbled 1.12 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.83 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust sank 0.62 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation shed 0.59 percent, SATS slumped 0.77 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.55 percent, SingTel slid 0.38 percent, Thai Beverage added 0.81 percent, United Overseas Bank declined 0.97 percent, Wilmar International added 0.52 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tanked 1.28 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 2.70 percent and Comfort DelGro and SembCorp Industries were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages shook off early strength, sinking as the day progressed with only the NASDAQ finishing in the green.

The Dow dropped 125.82 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 29,134.99, while the NASDAQ added 26.58 points or 0.25 percent to end at 10,829.50 and the S&P 500 slipped7.75 points or 0.21 percent to close at 3,647.29.

Bargain hunting contributed to the early rebound on Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, as concerns about higher interest rates and the outlook for the global economy continued to weigh on the markets.

The subsequent pullback by stocks came as treasury yields once again surged after an initial move to the downside, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching its highest levels in over 12 years.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a modest decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in August, as well as a rebound in new home sales last month. Also, the Conference Board saw a bigger than expected improvement in consumer confidence this month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday on reports producers have slowed down production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Ian. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $1.79 or 2.3 percent at $78.50 a barrel.