Singapore Bourse May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping more than 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,340-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The STI finished slightly lower on Monday as the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues were mixed.

For the day, the index slipped 5.82 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 4,338.42 after trading between 4,331.75 and 4,348.64.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT gained 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Seatrium Limited both skidded 0.43 percent, CapitaLand Investment dropped 0.36 percent, City Developments declined 0.59 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.68 percent, DBS Group stumbled 0.75 percent, DFI Retail Group rose 0.30 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.66 percent, Hongkong Land surged 2.96 percent, Keppel DC REIT soared 2.12 percent, Keppel Ltd climbed 0.93 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust advanced 0.70 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust improved 0.93 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.18 percent, SATS spiked 1.23 percent, SembCorp Industries perked 0.16 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering was up 0.25 percent, SingTel tanked 0.92 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.11 percent, UOL Group retreated 0.64 percent, Wilmar International tumbled 0.68 percent, Yangzijiang Financial collected 0.86 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Thai Beverage, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow rose 49.23 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 45,883.45, while the NASDAQ jumped 207.65 points or 0.94 percent to end at a record 22,348.75 and the S&P 500 gained 30.99 points or 0.47 percent to close at 6,615.28, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came following positive comments from President Donald Trump about trade talks between top U.S. and Chinese officials in Europe.

Traders also continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. With recent data showing relatively subdued inflation and a weakening labor market, the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by at least a quarter-point.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Monday amid brewing Middle East tensions and the heightening Russia-Ukraine war even as softening demand concerns surface. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.58 or 0.93 percent at $63.27 per barrel.