The Singapore stock market bounced right back to the upside again on Tuesday, one session after it had ended the seven-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 120 points or 4.3 percent. The Straits Times Index finished just above the 2,900-point plateau, although now traders may be tempted to lock in gains at the opening of trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with optimism from Europe tempered by soft housing data from the United States. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said that progress has been made in a debt-swap agreement with bondholders. However, a disappointing housing report showed a bigger than expected drop in U.S. home prices. The European markets finished slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantation stocks and the industrials. For the day, the index gathered 18.40 points or 0.64 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,906.69 after trading as low as 2,874.31 on volume of 3.16 billion shares. There were 355 gainers and 102 decliners. Among the actives, Genting Singapore, Noble Group and Olam International all finished higher, while Tiger Airways ended lower.
Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks were lackluster on Tuesday after failing to sustain an early upward move. The choppy trading came as investors weighed optimism about the financial situation in Europe against a disappointing batch of U.S. economic data.
The early upward move came as traders reacted positively to the latest news out of Europe, including comments from Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos indicating that "significant progress" has been made in reaching a debt-swap agreement with bondholders.
Papademos said that his government wants to conclude negotiations with its private sector bondholders on a debt restructuring deal by the end of this week. The markets also benefited from news that most European Union leaders have agreed to sign a new fiscal compact designed to achieve tighter budgetary discipline.
However, a disappointing housing report released before the start of trading helped to limit the upside for the markets, with the report from Standard & Poor's showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. home prices in November. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell by 0.7 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis. Economists had been expecting the index to decrease by about 0.4 percent.
Stocks subsequently pulled back off their early highs following the release of weaker than expected readings on Chicago-area business activity and consumer confidence. The Institute for Supply Management - Chicago said its Chicago business barometer fell to 60.2 in January from 62.2 in December, although a reading above 50 indicates an expansion in regional business activity. The drop surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge up to a reading of 63.0.
Separately, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 61.1 in January from a revised 64.8 in December. Economists had expected the index to increase to 68.0 from the 64.5 originally reported for the previous month.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, although they were all nearly unchanged on the day. While the tech-heavy NASDAQ inched up 1.90 points or 0.1 percent to 2,813.84, the Dow fell 20.81 points 0.2 percent to 12,632.91 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.61 points or 0.1 percent to 1,312.40.
In economic news, Singapore will on Wednesday announce January PMI results for electronics and manufacturing. The electronics PMI is expected to show a score of 50.1, up from 49.7 in December. The manufacturing PMI is called at 49.4, down from 49.5 in the previous month.
Also, the unemployment rate in Singapore declined to its lowest level in 14 years in 2011, the Ministry of Manpower said on Tuesday. The rate fell to 2 percent in 2011 from 2.2 percent in 2010. In the December quarter, the jobless rate remained unchanged at 2 percent compared to the previous quarter, while economists expected a modest rise to 2.1 percent. Total employment grew by 36,300 in the fourth quarter of 2011, bringing growth in the whole of 2011 to 121,300. This was slightly higher than the gains of 115,900 in 2010.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.