The Singapore stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, surrendering almost 140 points or 4.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,300-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains broadly negative on continuing trade war concerns and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the properties and industrials, while the financials and plantations were mixed.
For the day, the index sank 22.69 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 3,301.35 after trading between 3,297.25 and 3,341.64. There were 295 decliners and 136 gainers.
Among the actives, StarHub plummeted 5.11 percent, while Wilmar International plunged 3.35 percent, Hutchison Port Holdings tumbled 3.33 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding skidded 1.60 percent, Golden Agri-Resources jumped 1.56 percent, CapitaLand dropped 1.19 percent, Ascendas REIT shed 1.15 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 1.00 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.88 percent, Genting Singapore fell 0.81 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.64 percent, DBS Group dipped 0.59 percent, SembCorp Industries slid 0.36 percent, SingTel fell 0.31 percent and Thai Beverage and CapitaLand Mall Trust were unchanged.
After showing a significant move to the downside early Tuesday, stocks regained some ground but still closed in negative territory.
The Dow plunged 287.26 points or 1.15 percent to 24,700.21, while the NASDAQ shed 21.44 points or 0.28 percent and the S&P 500 fell 11.18 points or 0.40 percent to 2,762.57.
Trade war concerns weighed on Wall Street after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent.
Trump said the tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its unfair trade practices and moves forward with recently announced tariffs.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a bigger than expected jump in new residential construction in May, although there was a steeper than expected drop in building permits.
Crude oil futures tumbled Tuesday as OPEC geared up for a contentious meeting in Vienna, with Saudi Arabia expected to press for increased output. July WTI oil settled at $65.07/bbl, down 78 cents or 1.2 percent. Oil is down almost 10 percent over the past month.
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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.