On Tuesday, the Singapore stock market halted its two-day decline, during which it had dropped nearly 30 points or 0.8%. The Straits Times Index (STI) now sits just below the 3,815-point mark, though further decline is anticipated on Wednesday.
Globally, Asian markets are expected to follow a negative trend, driven by projected weakness in the tech, semiconductor, and housing sectors. This follows declines in both European and U.S. markets, suggesting a similar trajectory for Asian exchanges.
On Tuesday, the STI achieved a modest increase, fueled by gains in financial and industrial sectors, although the property segment displayed mixed results. Specifically, the index rose by 18.63 points or 0.49%, closing at 3,813.55, after fluctuating between 3,795.70 and 3,820.52 throughout the day.
In terms of individual stock performance, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell by 1.03%, CapitaLand Investment slipped 0.37%, and City Developments declined 0.95%. DBS Group, on the other hand, saw a gain of 0.80%. Emperador dropped 1.19%, while Hongkong Land increased by 0.85%. Keppel DC REIT dipped 0.91%, but Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust rose by 0.82%. Mapletree Industrial Trust experienced a decline of 1.33%, and Mapletree Logistics Trust fell 0.78%. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation jumped 1.15%, SATS edged down 0.27%, Seatrium Limited surged 1.49%, SembCorp Industries advanced 0.89%, and Singapore Technologies Engineering decreased by 0.44%. Wilmar International added 0.65%, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.12%. Stocks such as SingTel, Thai Beverage, Genting Singapore, Yangzijiang Financial, Keppel Ltd, and Comfort DelGro remained unchanged.
Wall Street provided a tepid lead, with major averages opening flat on Tuesday and maintaining stability for most of the session before moving decisively lower by the day's end.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 154.10 points or 0.35% to close at 44,247.83. The NASDAQ dropped 49.45 points or 0.25% to finish at 19,687.24, and the S&P 500 decreased by 17.94 points or 0.30%, closing at 6,034.91.
The downturn on Wall Street can be attributed to traders capitalizing on the recent market strength, in anticipation of the U.S. Labor Department's forthcoming report on consumer price inflation.
The Federal Reserve is broadly expected to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points next week. However, the forthcoming data could influence projections for future rate cuts. The CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates an 86.1% probability of the Fed reducing rates by a quarter point next week, but only a 69.1% likelihood of maintaining rates at the current level by late January.
Oil prices remained buoyed on Tuesday, driven by optimism surrounding increased demand from China following recent economic stimulus measures announced by the Chinese government. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January concluded at $68.59 per barrel, marking a rise of $0.22 or 0.32%.
