Rally May Stall For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,240-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, and concerns that the economy is slowing. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The STI finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financials, properties and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 0.40 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 3239.15 after trading between 3,227.37 and 3,244.06. Volume was 1.4 billion shares worth 911.6 million Singapore dollars. There were 297 decliners and 193 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT fell 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dropped 0.46 percent, CapitaLand Investment tanked 1.50 percent, City Developments slumped 0.64 percent, DBS Group eased 0.06 percent, Genting Singapore declined 1.23 percent, Hongkong Land slid 0.19 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust plunged 1.55 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust lost 0.37 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.68 percent, SATS sank 0.50 percent, SembCorp Industries retreated 0.67 percent, Singapore Exchange gained 0.50 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.74 percent, SingTel shed 0.38 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 0.77 percent, United Overseas Bank skidded 0.57 percent, Wilmar International rose 0.49 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.25 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 1.60 percent and Comfort DelGro, Keppel Corp and Mapletree Logistics Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened deep in the red on Tuesday, pared some of the losses but still closed well in negative territory.

The Dow plummeted 402.23 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 32,396.17, while the NASDAQ dipped 20.22 points or 0.16 percent to close at 12,348.76 and the S&P 500 sank 27.44 points or 0.67 percent to end at 4,091.19.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as tensions climbed the U.S. and China due to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

In economic news, the Labor Department said the number of job openings in the United States fell by 605,000 from a month earlier to 10.7 million in June, the lowest in nine months and below market expectations of 11 million.

Crude oil futures settled higher Tuesday, with traders weighing demand and supply prospects and looking ahead to this week's OPEC+ meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.53 or 0.6 percent at $94.42 a barrel.