The losing streak has hit five sessions now for the Singapore stock market, which has plummeted or 3.5 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,484-point plateau although it's expected to rebound on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive thanks to a jump in crude oil prices, plus expected bargain hunting after days of heavy selling. The European and U.S. markets were firm and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The STI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financials, industrials, properties and plantations.
For the day, the index dropped 40.59 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 3,438.61 after trading between 3,429.45 and 3,492.50. Volume was 2.3 billion shares worth 1.6 billion Singapore dollars. There were 351 decliners and 137 gainers.
Among the actives, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 5.67 percent, while SembCorp Industries plunged 3.21 percent, Keppel Corp tumbled 3.05 percent, Hutchison Port Holdings skidded 2.82 percent, Golden Agri-Resources dropped 2.78 percent, Genting Singapore retreated 2.61 percent, City Developments declined 2.44 percent, Wilmar International shed 1.89 percent, DBS Group lost 1.44 percent, SingTel fell 1.19 percent, Thai Beverage surrendered 0.61 percent, United Overseas Bank and Comfort DelGro both dipped 0.50 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.23 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks saw a significant turnaround over the course of trade on Monday after an initial move to the downside.
The Dow jumped 336.70 points or 1.37 percent to 24,874.76, while the NASDAQ added 72.84 points or 1.00 percent to 7,330.70 and the S&P gained 26.69 points or 1.10 percent to 2,720.94.
The rebound on Wall Street reflected recent volatility in the markets amid uncertainty about a potential global trade war and an increase in interest rates. Lingering concerns of a trade war contributed to the initial weakness, as President Donald Trump plans to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders looked ahead to the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday.
In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management noted a slowdown in the pace of growth in the service sector in February.
Crude oil prices rose Monday amid reports that a major pipeline in Libya went down Sunday, the second Libyan installation to fail in the past few weeks. As a result, April WTI oil climbed $1.32 or 2.2 percent to $62.57/bbl.
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