Ahead of Tuesday's Labor Day holiday, the Singapore stock market had bounced higher in consecutive trading days, collecting almost 45 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just shy of the 3,610-point plateau, and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today, while a drop in crude oil prices caps the upside. The European markets were up, and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and property stocks.
For the day, the index jumped 36.72 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 3,613.93 after trading between 3,595.63 and 3,628.43. Volume was 2.18 billion shares worth 1.62 billion Singapore dollars. There were 252 gainers and 162 decliners.
Among the actives, DBS Group surged 2.80 percent, while United Overseas Bank soared 2.38 percent, City Developments spiked 1.28 percent, Oversea-Chinese Bank collected 1.10 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust jumped 0.96 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and SingTel both climbed 0.86 percent, Ascendas REIT perked 0.75 percent, Thai Beverage slid 0.58 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.49 percent and Hutchison Port Holdings, Comfort DelGro, Golden Agri-Resources, Sembcorp Industries, Genting Singapore and Wilmar International all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks opened lower on Tuesday but turned mixed as the day progressed. While the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 climbed into positive territory, the Dow remained stuck in the red.
The Dow fell 64.10 points or 0.27 percent to 24,099.05, while the NASDAQ advanced 64.44 points or 0.91 percent to 7,130.70 and the S&P rose 6.75 points or 0.25 percent to 2,654.80.
The mixed closed came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will look to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said growth in manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in April. Also, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop on construction spending in April.
Crude oil futures fell Tuesday amid concerns about possible sanctions in Iran in the wake of complaints it continues to pursue nuclear weapons. June WTI oil fell $1.32 or 1.9 percent to settle at $67.25/bbl.
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Market Analysis
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.