Singapore Bourse May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 60 points or 1.6 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,825-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, thanks to concerns over tariffs and how they affect the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index sank 29.35 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 3,826.47 after trading between 3,797.83 and 3,850.85.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust slumped 1.03 percent, while CapitaLand Investment stumbled 1.63 percent, City Developments eased 0.20 percent, Comfort DelGro shed 0.71 percent, DBS Group lost 0.67 percent, Emperador plummeted 4.76 percent, Genting Singapore and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both fell 0.66 percent, Hongkong Land was down 0.23 percent, Keppel DC REIT skidded 0.91 percent, Keppel Ltd slid 0.59 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust surrendered 2.48 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust dropped 0.82 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation sank 0.80 percent, SATS retreated 1.18 percent, Seatrium Limited tanked 3.14 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 1.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.41 percent, SingTel plunged 3.30 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 0.93 percent, Wilmar International rallied 1.28 percent, Yangzijiang Financial declined 1.05 percent and Mapletree Industrial Trust was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened under water again on Monday and largely stayed that way, although they climbed up off session lows.

The Dow dropped 122.75 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,421.91, while the NASDAQ stumbled 235.49 points or 1.20 percent to close at 19,391.96 and the S&P 500 sank 45.96 points or 0.76 percent to end at 5,994.57.

Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading amid concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump officially imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on imports from China. Trump also threatened possible tariffs against the United Kingdom and the European Union, marking a significant escalation.

Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs on American goods, while China vowed countermeasures. The EU also warned of firm retaliation if targeted.

Investors fear that a trade war could hit the earnings of major companies and dent global growth. The tariffs could also lead to renewed inflation fears, leading the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold for longer.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday after Trump's imposed tariffs on imports from Canada threatened to disrupt North America's tightly integrated oil market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $73.16 a barrel, up $0.63 or about 0.87 percent.