Rebound Predicted For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,240-point plateau although it's likely to tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid economic data and support from the technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished barely lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and industrial issues.

For the day, the index dipped 1.78 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 3,238.80 after trading between 3,230.96 and 3,246.25. Volume was 1.58 billion shares worth 1.17 billion Singapore dollars. There were 261 gainers and 200 decliners.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT sank 0.65 percent, while City Developments gained 0.28 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.67 percent, Dairy Farm International skidded 0.89 percent, DBS Group shed 0.47 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 1.21 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 1.02 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.08 percent, SATS and SembCorp Industries both added 0.49 percent, Singapore Airlines was up 0.19 percent, Singapore Exchange dropped 0.53 percent, Singapore Press Holdings spiked 1.72 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.26 percent, SingTel and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding both tumbled 1.55 percent, Thai Beverage soared 1.38 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.14 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.23 percent and Keppel Corp, Mapletree Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and UOL Group were unchanged.

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

The Dow added 54.77 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 36,142.22, while the NASDAQ jumped 120.01 points or 0.76 percent to close at 15,973.86 and the S&P 500 rose 18.10 points or 0.39 percent to end at 4,700.90.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales spiked more than expected in October.

The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production rebounded by much more than expected in October.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, weighed down by a forecast by the International Energy Agency that global crude output will rise and help ease tight supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $0.12 or 0.2 percent at $80.76 a barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore will release October figures for non-oil domestic exports later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.4 percent on month and 15.0 percent on year following the 1.2 percent monthly increase and the 12.3 percent annual gain.