Singapore Shares May Extend Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 20 points or 0.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 4,940-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside as ambiguity continues to reign in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares were limited by weakness from the industrial issues and a mixed picture from the property sector. For the day, the index added 20.87 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 4,942.77 after trading between 4,908.76 and 4,956.77. Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dropped 0.86 percent, while City Developments retreated 1.82 percent, DBS Group jumped 1.56 percent, DFI Retail Group slumped 1.42 percent, Genting Singapore lost 0.73 percent, Hongkong Land soared 1.70 percent, Keppel DC REIT skidded 1.29 percent, Keppel Ltd eased 0.27 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust sank 0.84 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust fell 0.51 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation surged 2.65 percent, SATS plunged 2.69 percent, Seatrium Limited plummeted 3.04 percent, SembCorp Industries tumbled 2.68 percent, Singapore Airlines shed 0.79 percent, Singapore Exchange added 0.24 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slipped 0.28 percent, SingTel climbed 1.28 percent, United Overseas Bank vaulted 1.18 percent, UOL Group declined 1.73 percent, Wilmar International contracted 1.61 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 2.25 percent and CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Investment, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust and Thai Beverage were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and largely hugged the line throughout the session, finishing with slight gains.

The Dow climbed 95.31 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 49,704.47, while the NASDAQ added 27.05 points or 0.10 percent to close at a record 26,274.13 and the S&P 500 rose 13.19 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,412.84, also a record.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

Crude oil futures surged after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the months-long war, calling it "totally unacceptable" in a post on Truth Social. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.33 or 3.49 percent at $98.75 per barrel.

Trump later told reporters the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is on "life support" amid the ongoing dispute, describing the state of the truce "unbelievably weak."

However, U.S. markets have recently been able to shrug off concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict amid upbeat earnings news.