Rebound Expected For Singapore Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 25 points or 0.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 5,210-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to sliding oil prices and support from the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index sank 38.10 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 5,170.65 after trading between 5,164.01 and 5,213.01.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened mixed but quickly picked up steam to finish solidly in positive territory.

The Dow gained 136.46 points or 0.26 percent to finish at a record 52,319.20, while the NASDAQ jumped 393.57 points or 1.52 percent to end at 26,213.72 and the S&P 500 improved 58.93 points or 0.79 percent to close at 7,499.36.

The strength on Wall Street came as technology stocks continued to regain ground following the sharp pullback seen last week. Semiconductor stocks helped to lead the way higher once again, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking 3.9 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped amid conflicting messages about a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran. While President Donald Trump claimed a meeting is set to be held in Qatar, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry reportedly denied that talks were scheduled.

With increasing tanker traffic across the Strait of Hormuz eased supply concerns, West Texas Intermediate was down $1.29 or 1.82 percent at $69.46 per barrel.