Singapore Shares May Stop The Bleeding On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in five consecutive trading days, slumping more than 115 points or 3.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,130-point plateau although it may finally find traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and encouraging inflation data. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The STI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the banks, gains from the REITs and mixed performances from the properties and industrials.

For the day, the index eased 2.62 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 3,129.75 after trading between 3,094.28 and 3,139.27.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT spiked 2.61 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 0.55 percent, CapitaLand Investment climbed 1.46 percent, City Developments tumbled 1.94 percent, Comfort DelGro slumped 0.85 percent, DBS Group retreated 1.13 percent, Emperador advanced 0.98 percent, Hongkong Land added 0.68 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.56 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust soared 3.07 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rallied 2.23 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 3.77 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.74 percent, SATS skidded 0.83 percent, SembCorp Industries skyrocketed 6.10 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.89 percent, SingTel jumped 2.15 percent, Thai Beverage dropped 0.80 percent, United Overseas Bank declined 1.59 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plunged 3.12 percent and Genting Singapore, Wilmar International and Yangzijiang Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 336.26 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 32,155.40, while the NASDAQ rallied 239.31 points or 2.14 percent to end at 11,428.15 and the S&P 500 advanced 63.53 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,919.29.

The strength on Wall Street was fueled by bargain hunting, particularly in the banking sector after regulators said there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago.

Data showing a drop in U.S. consumer prices in February contributed significantly to the positive mood in the market, allaying fears of an accelerated rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices fell sharply to a nine-week low on Tuesday amid concerns a fresh financial crisis following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank could significantly hurt demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April sank $3.47 or 4.7 percent at $71.33 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release Q4 data for unemployment later today; in the three months prior, the jobless rate was 2.0 percent.