Singapore Shares May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 80 points or 1.7 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Straits Times Index sits just above the 4,920-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, boosted by gains from the oil, gold and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to higher and the overbought Asian bourses may see mild upside - although they may see profit taking later in the day.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index improved 62.09 points or 1.28 percent to finish at the daily high of 4,923.02 after trading as low as 4,880.60.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT slipped 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell 0.42 percent, CapitaLand Investment strengthened 1.64 percent, City Developments soared 2.94 percent, DBS Group rallied 1.68 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.69 percent, Hongkong Land jumped 1.69 percent, Keppel DC REIT lost 0.45 percent, Keppel Ltd improved 0.64 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust added 0.48 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust vaulted 1.48 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation accelerated 1.81 percent, SATS perked 0.26 percent, Seatrium Limited shed 0.48 percent, SembCorp Industries sank 0.50 percent, Singapore Airlines dropped 0.93 percent, Singapore Exchange expanded 1.09 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering gained 0.43 percent, SingTel spiked 2.91 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 1.05 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.13 percent, UOL Group skyrocketed 8.02 percent, Wilmar International surged 4.48 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose 0.30 percent and DFI Retail Group, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 407.72 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 49,004.68, while the NASDAQ jumped 215.74 points or 0.91 percent to close at 23,817.10 and the S&P 500 added 30.82 points or 0.44 percent to end at 6,981.05.

The strength in the broader markets came as traders remain optimistic ahead of the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META).

Traders were also cautious ahead of the monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve later today. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board reported a significant deterioration in consumer confidence in January - hitting its lowest level since May 2014,.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday as U.S. naval forces have started building up near Iran, while Lebanese and Yemeni militias have pledged support to Iran, leading to a heightening of tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.61 or 2.66 percent at $62.24 per barrel.