Additional Support Anticipated For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, adding almost 35 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,300-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside as investors figure to wait and see is the U.S. government can avert a shutdown. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and industrials, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index improved 30.18 points or 0.71 percent to finish at the daily high of 4,300.16 after trading as low as 4,272.48. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT rose 0.36 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust improved 0.44 percent, CapitaLand Investment gained 0.37 percent, City Developments jumped 0.73 percent, DBS Group spiked 1.47 percent, DFI Retail Group accelerated 1.24 percent, Genting Singapore tumbled 1.34 percent, Hongkong Land sank 0.63 percent, Keppel DC REIT and Seatrium Limited both added 0.42 percent, Keppel Ltd rallied 0.79 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust strengthened 0.70 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.47 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation climbed 0.61 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.81 percent, SingTel gathered 0.24 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.38 percent, UOL Group perked 0.13 percent, Yangzijiang Financial soared 2.56 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 4.33 percent and Thai Beverage, SembCorp Industries, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, Wilmar International, SATS and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent all of Tuesday under water until the very end, when they crept up into positive territory.

The Dow climbed 81.82 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 46,397.89, while the NASDAQ added 68.86 points or 0.30 percent to end at 22,660.01 and the S&P 500 gained 27.25 points or 0.41 percent to close at 6,688.46.

The choppy trading for much of the day came as traders kept an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are struggling to reach an agreement to avert a government shutdown.

The late-day strength on Wall Street reflected hopes lawmakers will reach a last-minute agreement, as they often do, or optimism that a government shutdown will not have a major impact on the economy.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Conference Board report showing a bigger than expected decrease by its reading on U.S. consumer confidence in the month of September.

Crude oil declined sharply on Tuesday, extending recent losses as excess supply concerns continue to linger due to the anticipated production increase by OPEC. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $1.08 or 1.70 percent at $62.37 per barrel.