The Singapore stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 50 points or 1.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,330-point plateau, and the market is looking at continued selling pressure again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft thanks to the weekend's referendum results in Greece - although bargain hunting may provide a lift later in the day. The European and U.S. markets were down on Monday and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the plantation stocks and mixed performances from the financials and properties.
For the day, the index dipped 9.79 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 3,332.94 after trading between 3,307.26 and 3,334.79. Volume was 1.17 billion shares worth 833 million Singapore dollars. There were 315 decliners and 114 gainers, with 532 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, City Developments added 0.81 percent, while Hongkong Land tumbled 2.87 percent, Golden Agri-Resources dropped 2.41 percent, Noble Group plummeted 4.67 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.10 percent, United Overseas Bank lost 0.47 percent, SembCorp fell 0.77 percent and SingTel advanced 0.47 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks moved lower on Monday in a kneejerk response to the Greek vote. During the session, the Dow hit its lowest intraday level in five months.
The Dow dipped 46.53 points or 0.3 percent to 17,683.58, while the NASDAQ slid 17.27 points or 0.3 percent to 4,991.94 and the S&P 500 fell 8.02 points or 0.4 percent to 2,068.76.
The weakness followed news that the Greek people voted to reject the austerity measures proposed by the country's international creditors. The "no" vote on the referendum has added to recent concerns about Greece leaving the eurozone.
European officials said they respect the Greek voters' decision but argued that it is now up to the Greek government to come up with a new proposal.
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management reported that activity in the service sector expanded at a modestly faster rate in June.
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