(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 15 points or 0.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 5,000-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing pessimism over the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the financials and telecoms were capped by weakness from the properties and industrials.
For the day, the index rose 7.67 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 4,996.75 after trading between 4,956.53 and 4,999.93.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT dropped 0.81 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust declined 0.88 percent, CapitaLand Investment fell 0.38 percent, City Developments slipped 0.25 percent, DBS Group advanced 0.93 percent, DFI Retail Group cratered 1.90 percent, Genting Singapore slumped 0.84 percent, Hongkong Land plummeted 2.68 percent, Keppel DC REIT contracted 0.87 percent, Keppel Ltd crashed 2.08 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust sank 0.80 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust shed 0.52 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust skidded 0.85 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.48 percent, SATS retreated 1.23 percent, Seatrium Limited lost 0.44 percent, SembCorp Industries slid 0.33 percent, Singapore Airlines dipped 0.16 percent, Singapore Exchange perked 0.05 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering surged 4.05 percent, SingTel climbed 1.04 percent, Thai Beverage soared 3.49 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.03 percent, UOL Group tumbled 1.38 percent, Wilmar International plunged 2.37 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stumbled 1.26 percent and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned tail, finally ending mixed.
The Dow gained 159.95 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 49,686.12, while the NASDAQ slumped 134.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 26,090.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 7,403.05.
The U.S.-Iran war has effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, leading to a spike in crude oil prices and concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
Treasury yields soared last Friday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move could be an increase rather than a cut.
The price of crude oil and treasury yields moved to the upside over the course of the day, adding to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. takes time to respond to Iran's new peace proposal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was last up $3.27 or 3.10 percent at $108.69 per barrel.
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