Singapore Shares May See Additional Support On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last nine trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than a dozen points or 0.25 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 5,010-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on tumbling crude oil prices and hopes for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index gained 23.40 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 5,007.57 after trading between 4,992.64 and 5,020.59.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT improved 0.79 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbed 0.85 percent, CapitaLand Investment added 0.71 percent, City Developments picked up 0.60 percent, DBS Group perked 0.14 percent, DFI Retail Group tumbled 2.58 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 2.21 percent, Hongkong Land rallied 1.26 percent, Keppel DC REIT expanded 1.30 percent, Keppel Ltd rose 0.25 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust vaulted 1.00 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust surged 3.33 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation jumped 1.33 percent, SATS was up 0.28 percent, Seatrium Limited advanced 0.82 percent, SembCorp Industries slumped 1.01 percent, Singapore Airlines gained 0.30 percent, Singapore Exchange increased 0.77 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.88 percent, SingTel fell 0.41 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.48 percent, UOL Group soared 2.30 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.78 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding accelerated 1.52 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Thai Beverage and Frasers Centrepoint Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened solidly in the green on Tuesday and continued to climb as the day progressed, ending at session highs.

The Dow jumped 317.74 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 48,535.99, while the NASDAQ soared 455.35 points or 1.96 percent to end at 23,639.08 and the S&P 500 rallied 81.14 points or 1.18 percent to close at 6,967.38.

The continued strength on Wall Street came amid optimism about a second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran over ending the Middle East conflict.

The news about potential negotiations contributed to a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil. In addition, the International Energy Agency's report cautioning crude oil "demand destruction" weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $7.18 or 7.25 percent at $91.90 per barrel.

Adding to the positive sentiment, a report from the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. increased much less than expected last month.