The Singapore stock market turned right back to the upside again on Tuesday, one session after it had halted the two-day winning streak in which it had gained nearly 50 points or 1.5 percent. The Straits Times Index finished just below the 2,980-point plateau, and now investors are expecting the market to hold steady in that area code when it opens for business on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed as economic data and corporate results provide no clear lead. Property, airline, steel and retail stocks are expected to see continued selling, while technology, financial and utility stocks counter with support. The European markets ended broadly higher, while the U.S. bourses finished mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets are also expected to see inconsistent trading.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday, riding gains from the airline stocks, financial shares and shipping companies.
For the day, the index gained 12.39 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 2,979.38 after trading between 2,976.40 and 2,991.49. Volume was 1.59 billion shares worth 1.61 billion Singapore dollars. There were 254 gainers and 193 decliners.
Among the gainers, Singapore Airlines added 1.8 percent, while Neptune Orient Lines gained 2 percent, Keppel Corp climbed 1.9 percent, DBS Group Holdings jumped 1.1 percent, United Overseas Bank was up 0.8 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp collected 0.9 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little guidance as stocks closed on opposite sides of the unchanged mark on Tuesday, with a mixed batch of economic data and solid quarterly earnings results dividing market sentiment. While the Dow eked out a modest gain, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 declined by slim margins.
On the economic front, the Conference Board released a report showing that its consumer confidence index fell to 50.4 in July from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June. Economists had expected the index to slip to a reading of 51.0 compared to the 52.9 originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, Standard and Poor's said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price rose at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in May compared to the 3.8 percent growth seen in April. Economists had expected prices to increase at an annual rate of 4.0 percent. S&P also said that the 20-City Composite Index rose 1.3 percent on a monthly basis in May following a 0.9 percent increase in April.
In earnings news, chemical giant DuPont (DD) firmly beat second quarter earnings and revenue estimates while also boosting its full-year earnings forecast.
Meanwhile, BP PLC (BP) posted a heavy second-quarter loss compared to a year-ago profit due to $32.2 billion in charges related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The firm also named managing director Robert Dudley as its new chief executive, set to replace Tony Hayward in October. Dudley will be the first American to head the company.
The major averages ended the day mixed, with the Dow posting a modest gain and reaching a new two-month closing high. The Dow gained 12.26 points or 0.1 percent to close at 10,537.69, while the NASDAQ declined by 8.18 points or 0.4 percent to 2,288.25 and the S&P 500 slipped by 1.17 points or 0.1 percent to 1,113.84.
In economic news, visitor arrivals to Singapore increased in June to the highest level since December 2009, the Singapore Tourism Board reported on Tuesday.
Tourist arrivals showed an annual growth of 26.7 percent to reach 950,000, the highest ever recorded for the month of June. This was also the seventh consecutive month of record visitor arrivals.
Visitor days were estimated at 4 million days, a year-on-year growth of 22.6 percent. The average occupancy rate posted a 12.3 percentage point increase over the last year to reach 88 percent in June.
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