The Singapore stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost 55 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,280-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.
The global forecast is cautiously optimistic thanks to bargain hunting and a surge in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were higher, and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financial shares and property stocks were capped by weakness from the industrials.
For the day, the index picked up 20.03 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 3,280.87 after trading between 3,237.77 and 3,285.23. Volume was 1.8 billion shares worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 210 decliners and 184 gainers.
Among the actives, StarHub surged 6.13 percent, while Comfort DelGro soared 2.26 percent, Genting Singapore spiked 1.67 percent, Golden Agri-Resources tumbled 1.56 percent, United Overseas Bank jumped 1.45 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust climbed 1.22 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding advanced 1.08 percent, DBS Group perked 1.05 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust gathered 0.99 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 0.84 percent. SembCorp dropped 0.72 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.69 percent, Thai Beverage shed 0.67 percent, SingTel added 0.32 percent and Hutchison Port Holdings and Singapore Technologies were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened with modest gains Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.
Bargain hunting contributed to initial strength on Wall Street, although traders seemed reluctant to pick up stocks amid lingering trade war concerns.
In economic news, the Conference Board reported an unexpected decline in consumer confidence in June.
Crude oil prices surged Tuesday after U.S. officials threatened sanctions on countries that continue to import oil from Iran. In response, WTI jumped more than 3 percent to climb above $70 per barrel.
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