The Singapore stock market has moved lower now in consecutive trading days, giving away almost 40 points or 1.3 percent in the process. The Straits Times Index wound up just shy of the 2,865-point plateau, and now traders are bracing for more carnage when the market opens on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains grim thanks to ongoing concerns about the political uncertainty in Greece. As political parties in Greece have failed to form a coalition government, fresh elections would mean weeks of uncertainty in the Eurozone over Greece's continued membership in the single currency zone. The downside in Asia may be limited by bargain-hunting, however, following heavy damage in the previous session. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the red, and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower again on Monday following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index dropped 19.28 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 2,864.12 after trading between 2,861.23 and 2,898.85. Volume was 1.82 billion shares worth 985.8 million Singapore dollars. There were 346 decliners and 88 gainers.
Among the decliners, Neptune Orient Lines plunged 5.4 percent, while Wilmar International shed 2.9 percent, Noble Group fell 1.7 percent, Olam International dropped 1.9 percent, Golden Agri-Resources eased 0.7 percent, DBS Group Holdings retreated 1.4 percent, OCBC was down 1.1 percent and United Overseas Bank dropped 1.1 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests further consolidation as stocks saw considerable weakness on Monday. The losses extended a recent downward trend for the markets, which have moved lower for most of May. With Monday's losses, the major averages all ended the session at their worst closing levels in over three months.
The weakness followed lingering concerns about the political uncertainty in Greece, as the debt-plagued nation could be forced to hold a new round of elections due to lawmakers' inability to form a coalition government.
Traders also kept a close eye on developments in China, where the central bank announced over the weekend that it would lower the reserve requirement for banks by 50 basis points in a bid to inject more liquidity into the system. The move added to recent concerns about the outlook for growth in China, the world's second largest economy behind the U.S.
In corporate news, shares of Yahoo (YHOO) bucked the downtrend after the online media giant announced the resignation of CEO Scott Thompson, who left the company over a resume padding scandal. The company named Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO. Yahoo also said Fred Amoroso has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors, replacing Roy Bostock.
The major U.S. averages finished sharply lower on Monday as the Dow fell 125.25 points or 1 percent to finish at 12,695.35, while the NASDAQ dropped 31.24 points or 1.1 percent to end at 2,902.58 and the S&P 500 slid 15.04 points or 1.1 percent to 1,338.35.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.