The Singapore stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 60 points or 2.2 percent. The Straits Times Index finished just above the 2,690-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting additional selling pressure when the market opens on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft as European, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting ahead of a major summit of European leaders later this month. Uncertainty about the upcoming earnings season also contributed to the lackluster performance, as did some disappointing economic data from the U.S. The European markets finished lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed, and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.
The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index retreated 24.31 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 2,691.28 after trading between 2,683.15 and 2,707.53 on volume of 904.8 million shares. There were 208 decliners and 136 gainers.
Among the decliners, United Overseas Bank shed 1.6 percent, while DBS Group lost 0.8 percent, Keppel Corp eased 0.5 percent and Noble Group plunged 3.5 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Monday, with traders expressing continued uncertainty about the financial situation in Europe and the upcoming earnings season.
Traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Europe, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting ahead of a major summit of European leaders later this month. Merkel and Sarkozy indicated that they have made progress on an agreement to implement new budget rules for the euro zone. The leaders also called on Greece to complete its debt writedown with creditors as soon as possible.
Uncertainty about the upcoming earnings season also contributed to the lackluster performance, with Alcoa (AA) releasing its fourth quarter results after the close of trading. The release of quarterly results from Alcoa is seen as the unofficial start of earnings season. Shares of Alcoa rose by 3 percent ahead of the announcement.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Federal Reserve showing that consumer credit surged up by $20.4 billion in November following a revised $6 billion increase in October. Economists had expected credit to increase by about $7.6 billion.
Among individual stocks, shares of Inhibitex (INHX) moved sharply higher after the biopharmaceutical company agreed to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) in a deal valued at approximately $2.5 billion. Inhibitex surged up by 140 percent on the day. The deal values Inhibitex at $26 per share, a 163 percent premium to its closing price on Friday.
The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending the session modestly higher. The Dow rose 32.77 points or 0.3 percent to 12,392.69, the NASDAQ edged up 2.34 points or 0.1 percent to 2,676.56 and the S&P 500 climbed 2.89 points or 0.2 percent to 1,280.70.
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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.