The Singapore stock market has moved lower in five straight trading days, sinking almost 115 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,120-point plateau although it may find support on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asianmarketsis positive as the markets look to recover from heavy selling following the discovery of a new coronavirus strain. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The STI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index dropped 45.69 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 3,120.58 after trading between 3,115.97 and 3,147.17.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dropped 0.99 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust tumbled 2.28 percent, City Developments shed 0.85 percent, Comfort DelGro plunged 2.72 percent, Dairy Farm International gained 0.31 percent, DBS Group tanked 2.47 percent, Genting Singapore fell 0.63 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 0.72 percent, Keppel Corp slumped 1.33 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust stumbled 1.42 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust slid 0.52 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation retreated 1.82 percent, SATS declined 2.01 percent, SembCorp Industries sank 1.01 percent, Singapore Airlines plummeted 2.77 percent, Singapore Exchange added 0.54 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering eased 0.26 percent, SingTel weakened 1.23 percent, Thai Beverage skidded 1.44 percent, United Overseas Bank surrendered 2.14 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.71 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Singapore Press Holdings were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened firmly higher on Monday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow climbed 236.60 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 35,135.94, while the NASDAQ surged 291.18 points or 1.88 percent to close at 15,782.83 and the S&P 500 gained 60.65 points or 1.32 percent to end at 4,655.
Bargain hunting contributed to the strength on Wall Street after Friday's steep drop dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in at least a month. News of a newcoronavirusvariant contributed to the sell-off as traders worried the pandemic would continue to weigh on the globaleconomy.