Singapore Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 45 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,110-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over economic growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The STI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index dropped 38.34 points or 1.22 percent to finish at 3,107.47 after trading between 3,104.88 and 3,125.06. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 960.4 million Singapore dollars. There were 360 decliners and 191 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT declined 2.23 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dropped 1.55 percent, CapitaLand Investment slipped 0.87 percent, City Developments shed 1.40 percent, Comfort DelGro tumbled 1.34 percent, DBS Group was down 0.84 percent, Emperador retreated 2.04 percent, Genting Singapore slid 1.24 percent, Hongkong Land dipped 1.09 percent, Keppel Corp fell 1.27 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust surrendered 2.26 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust weakened 1.68 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust stumbled 1.91 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 1.42 percent, SATS advanced 1.01 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slumped 1.76 percent, SingTel skidded 1.58 percent, Thai Beverage plummeted 3.42 percent, United Overseas Bank lost 1.39 percent, Wilmar International tanked 2.41 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plunged 2.67 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 2.54 percent and SembCorp Industries was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Monday but quickly turned lower, staying that way for the balance of the session.

The Dow dropped 93.91 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 29,202.88, while the NASDAQ tumbled 110.30 points or 1.04 percent to end at 10,542.10 and the S&P 500 slipped 27.27 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,612.39.

The soft action on Wall Street may be partially attributed to light turnover, with many investors away from their desks for the Columbus Day holiday.

Soft sentiment still governed the markets after the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report last week failed to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates by coming in stronger than economists had anticipated.

U.S. inflation data, minutes from the Fed's September meeting and reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment due this week will provide more insights into policymakers' view of where inflation stands and the outlook for the future path of interest rates.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as soft data from China raised concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.51 or 1.6 percent at 91.13 a barrel.