Singapore Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, improving almost 70 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,255-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit-taking likely on the menu. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are also expected to open under water.

The STI finished slightly higher again on Monday as gains from the industrials and trusts were offset by weakness from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the property sector. For the day, the index perked 3.47 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 4,256.49 after trading between 4,248.66 and 4,274.13. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT jumped 1.87 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust perked 0.44 percent, CapitaLand Investment accelerated 2.21 percent, City Developments soared 2.65 percent, Comfort DelGro stumbled 1.36 percent, DBS Group slumped 0.94 percent, DFI Retail Group and Hongkong Land both shed 0.32 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 1.34 percent, Keppel DC REIT improved 1.30 percent, Keppel Ltd gathered 0.48 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust climbed 1.47 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 2.49 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 3.39 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.41 percent, SATS rose 0.61 percent, Seatrium Limited gained 0.86 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.16 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering lost 0.26 percent, SingTel increased 1.19 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.03 percent, UOL Group strengthened 1.63 percent, Wilmar International added 1.03 percent, Yangzijiang Financial rallied 1.94 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding expanded 1.39 percent and Thai Beverage was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and spent most of the day under water, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow stumbled 349.27 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 45,282.47, while the NASDAQ sank 47.24 points or 0.22 percent to close at 21,449.29 and the S&P 500 lost 27.59 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,439.32.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last Friday, which lifted the Dow to a new record closing high.

The rally seen during last Friday's session came as remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seemed to indicate the central bank is likely to lower interest rates next month.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a repot this morning showing new home sales in the U.S. decreased from an upwardly revised level in July.

Crude oil jumped on Monday, on concerns that Western sanctions on Russian oil exports may continue longer than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.20 or 1.89 percent at $64.86 per barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will see July data for industrial production later today; in June, output was flat on month and up 8.0 percent on year.