The Singapore stock market has closed higher now in three straight trading days, rising more than 40 points or 1.4 percent in the process. The Straits Times Index finished just above the 2,990-point plateau, and now traders are looking for a slightly higher open again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed as lingering concerns from Europe offset better than expected economic data from the United States. In Europe, Spain's ten-year borrowing costs moved above 6 percent on Monday ahead of a key debt auction, adding to worries over the contagion risk of the sovereign debt crisis and the health of the economy. The European markets finished higher on Monday and the U.S. bourses were mixed - and the Asian markets are tipped to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly higher on Monday, bucking the regional trend of decline as gains from the industrials were limited by weakness from the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index added 4.30 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 2,992.12 after trading between 2,969.36 and 2,993.48 on volume of 2.51 billion shares. There were 223 decliners and 133 gainers.
Among the actives, Keppel Corp climbed 1.22 percent and Olam International shed 0.43 percent.
Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks were mixed on Monday following the release of conflicting U.S. economic data. Uncertainty about the outlook for corporate earnings also impacted trading, along with renewed concerns about the European debt crisis.
Initial buying interest was generated when the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose by 0.8 percent in March following a revised 1.0 percent increase in February. Economists had been expecting an increase of 0.3 percent. Excluding a 0.9 percent increase in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.8 percent in March compared to a 0.9 percent increase in the previous month.
However, disappointing New York manufacturing data offset the positive sentiment, with the New York Federal Reserve reporting that its general business conditions index plunged to 6.6 in April from 20.2 in March, although a positive reading indicates an increase in manufacturing activity. The index had been expected to edge down to 18.0.
Separately, the National Association of Home Builders reported an unexpected deterioration in homebuilder confidence in April, marking the first drop in seven months. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped to 25 in April from 28 in March. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge up to 29.
Notable losses by Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) contributed to the pullback by the NASDAQ, with the tech heavyweights falling by 4.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, shares of Citigroup (C) ended the day up by 1.8 percent after the financial giant released its first quarter results before the start of trading. While Citigroup reported net income that fell to $0.95 per share from $0.99 per share in the same quarter a year ago, the company's adjusted earnings rose to $1.11 per share.
While the Dow remained positive throughout the session, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed in the red. The Dow rose by 71.82 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 12,921.41, while the NASDAQ fell 22.93 points or 0.8 percent to end at 2,988.40 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.69 points or 0.1 percent to 1,369.57.
In corporate news, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. sold 3.55 billion of its H-shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to Singapore state-owned investment group Temasek Holdings for $2.3 billion. Temasek is said to be buying the shares at HK$5.05 per share, which represents a discount of 3.1 percent to their Friday closing price of HK$5.21. The transaction will take Temasek's deemed interest in ICBC to about 5.3 percent of H-shares.
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