Rally May Stall For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 50 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 5,770-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on surging crude oil prices and increasing anxiety in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares and industrial companies were capped by weakness from the property sector.

For the day, the index added 24.87 points or 0.43 percent to finish at the daily high of 5,768.46 after trading as low as 5,679.10.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed and flat but turned lower by midday, ending near session lows.

The Dow sank 272.63 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 53,459.78, while the NASDAQ lost 84.25 points or 0.32 percent to close at 26,644.91 and the S&P 500 fell 40.70 points or 0.52 percent to end at 7,745.06.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil moved sharply higher amid indications Iran has ruled out talks with the U.S. to extend a 60-day ceasefire that expired Monday.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher on Monday, reflecting concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery surged $2.28 or 2.8 percent to $84.68 a barrel.

Airline stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session amid the surge in crude oil prices, while substantial weakness was also visible among software, telecom, computer hardware and housing stocks.