The Singapore stock market headed south again on Tuesday, one session after it had ended the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 65 points or 3.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 2,965-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the oversold Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting on the agenda. The European markets were mixed on Tuesday and the U.S. bourses were firmly higher - and the Asian market are tipped to split the difference.
The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, industrials and properties.
For the day, the index slid 15.09 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 2,966.45 after trading between 2,961.23 and 2,974.85. Volume was 1.93 billion shares worth 985 million Singapore dollars. There were 266 decliners and 132 gainers.
Among the actives, Genting Singapore plummeted 1.71 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plunged 1.65 percent, Singapore Press Holdings tumbled 1.14 percent, SembCorp Industries skidded 1.07 percent, City Developments declined 1.01 percent, DBS Group contracted 1.00 percent, Keppel Corp dropped 0.98 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust retreated 0.93 percent, Comfort DelGro shed 0.89 percent, Thai Beverage lost 0.80 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.77 percent, SingTel fell 0.64 percent, United Overseas Bank was down 0.62 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust slid 0.58 percent, Wilmar International eased 0.32 percent and Hutchison Port Holdings, Golden Agri-Resources and Ascendas REIT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks shook off a lackluster open on Tuesday and finished sharply higher.
The Dow climbed 431.72 points or 1.77 percent to 24,874.64, while the NASDAQ jumped 111.36 points or 1.58 percent to 7,161.65 and the S&P added 41.38 points or 1.57 percent to 2,682.63.
The sharply higher close on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after shares skidded in the previous session on renewed concerns about the trade war between the U.S. and China.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning November 30.
Positive sentiment may also have been generated by a Conference Board report showing a further advance in consumer confidence in September.
Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday to their lowest settlement in over two months as demand growth concerns continued to weigh on the commodity. Crude oil futures for December ended down $0.86 or 1.3 percent at $66.18 a barrel.
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