The Singapore stock market has finished lower in four straight trading days, sliding more than 50 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The Straits Times index now rests just beneath the 3,500-point plateau, and the market figures to take further damage again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative thanks to ongoing fears of a trade war, the outlook for interest rates and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourse figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the industrials, financials and plantations were mitigated by support from the property sector.
For the day, the index lost 13.85 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,498.29 after trading between 3,493.52 and 3,515.95. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 939.9 million Singapore dollars. There were 307 decliners and 128 gainers.
Among the actives, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 2.26 percent, while Hutchison Port Holdings spiked 1.52 percent, Golden Agri-Resources plunged 1.41 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation tumbled 1.20 percent, SembCorp Industries skidded 0.97 percent, DBS Group dropped 0.85 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust jumped 0.56 percent, Keppel Corp shed 0.52 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust advanced 0.48 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.31 percent, SingTel picked up 0.29 percent, United Overseas Bank fell 0.28 percent and Thai Beverage, Ascendas REIT and Genting Singapore all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as stocks moved sharply lower on Monday, extending last week's losses.
The Dow shed 335.60 points or 1.35 percent to 24,610.91, while the NASDAQ lost 137.74 points or 1.84 percent to 7,344.24 and the S&P fell 39.09 points or 1.42 percent to 2,712.92.
The sell-off reflected lingering concerns about a potential trade war as well as political uncertainty following recent developments in Washington. Traders are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will keep an eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for future rate hikes. New Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's first press conference as head of the central bank is also likely to attract considerable attention.
A steep drop by social media giant Facebook (FB) was a heavy drag on the technology sector, while telecoms, energy, computer hardware and steel stocks also fell under pressure.
Crude oil futures fell along with U.S. stocks Monday as traders fretted over a litany of defections and firings from the Trump Administration. WTI light sweet oil was down 28 cents or 0.5 percent to settle at $62.06/bbl.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.