Singapore Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping more than 50 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,180-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The STI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues. For the day, the index sank 33.30 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 3,183.61 after trading between 3,175.41 and 3,196.08.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 1.04 percent, while CapitaLand Investment surrendered 1.87 percent, City Developments declined 1.55 percent, Comfort DelGro dipped 0.68 percent, DBS Group dropped 1.33 percent, Genting Singapore slipped 0.55 percent, Hongkong Land skidded 1.34 percent, Keppel DC REIT sank 1.17 percent, Keppel Ltd tumbled 2.51 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust plummeted 4.55 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust eased 0.43 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust weakened 1.38 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was down 0.44 percent, SATS slid 079 percent, Seatrium Limited plunged 3.70 percent, SembCorp Industries tanked 3.14 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering retreated 1.75 percent, SingTel fell 0.84 percent, Thai Beverage lost 1.02 percent, Wilmar International slumped 1.41 percent, Yangzijiang Financial stumbled 1.52 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding added 0.56 percent and Emperador was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly head south and finished deep in the red.

The Dow dropped 248.13 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 37,735.11, while the NASDAQ tumbled 290.08 points or 1.79 percent to close at 15,885.02 and the S&P 500 sank 61.59 points or 1.20 percent to end at 5,061.82.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Goldman Sachs (GS) as the investment banking company reported Q1 earnings that exceeded estimates on better than expected revenues.

Traders also initially reacted positively to a Commerce Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. retail sales growth in March - but the data triggered another spike by treasury yields.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note has surged to its highest levels in five months, as the data has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday amid slightly easing concerns about supply disruptions after Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel did not cause any big damage. Concerns about the outlook for oil demand in China and a strong U.S. dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for May ended lower by $0.25 at $85.41 a barrel.