The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 165 points or 5 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,280-point plateau although it's likely to see renewed consolidation again on Wednesday.
The global forecast is sharply negative on soaring concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European and U.S.marketswere sharply lower on Tuesday and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index climbed 36.39 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 3,278.63 after trading between 3,260.96 and 3,288.38. Volume was 1.30 billion shares worth 1.61 billion Singapore dollars. There were 303 gainers and 164 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT accelerated 2.17 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust lost 0.47 percent, City Developments added 0.70 percent, Comfort DelGro strengthened 1.42 percent, DBS Group rallied 1.77 percent, Hongkong Land gained 0.56 percent, Keppel Corp advanced 1.00 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust jumped 1.66 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust spiked 2.29 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.51 percent, SATS increased 0.50 percent, SembCorp Industries skyrocketed 5.98 percent, Singapore Airlines rose 0.39 percent, Singapore Exchange improved 0.54 percent, Singapore Press Holdings perked 0.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering soared 3.40 percent, SingTel gathered 1.19 percent, Thai Beverage and United Overseas Bank both climbed 1.50 percent, Wilmar International was up 0.23 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 4.35 percent and Dairy Farm International and Genting Singapore were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed before closing firmly in the red.
The Dow plummeted 597.65 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 33,294.95, while the NASDAQ tumbled 218.94 points or 1.59 percent to close at 13,532.46 and the S&P 500 dropped 67.68 points or 1.55 percent to end at 4,306.26.
The weakness on Wall Street came as selling continued unabated amid rising worries about the likely economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and several Western countries.
According to reports, Russian rockets have hit the center of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a long line of tanks was heading toward Kyiv.
In U.S. economic news, construction spending posted a bigger gain than expected in January, while the ISM's manufacturing PMI for February also came in above forecasts.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as an escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia raised concerns about global oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $7.69 or 8 percent at $103.41 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 2014.
Comments