Singapore Stock Market May Extend Tuesday's Gains

The Singapore stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had plummeted almost 100 points or 4 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 2,515-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on rising oil prices and hopes for stimulus in the United States. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The STI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index soared 30.79 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 2,515.70 after trading between 2,491.39 and 2,523.78. Volume was 1.42 billion shares worth 1.43 billion Singapore dollars. There were 250 gainers and 184 decliners.

Among the actives, Singapore Press Holdings skyrocketed 5.71 percent, while Ascendas REIT surged 2.61 percent, Singapore Exchange soared 2.59 percent, Mapletree Logistics spiked 2.37 percent, City Developments and SATS both accelerated 2.26 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust jumped 2.16 percent, CapitaLand Commercial Trust climbed 1.89 percent, Singapore Airlines rallied 1.81 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gathered 1.68 percent, Thai Beverage perked 1.64 percent, Wilmar International advanced 1.53 percent, Comfort DelGro added 1.50 percent, CapitaLand gained 1.48 percent, United Overseas Bank rose 1.26 percent, DBS Group collected 1.23 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust increased 1.10 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation climbed 1.06 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.69 percent, SembCorp Industries added 0.59 percent, Keppel Corp gained 0.58 percent, Singapore Technologies rose 0.31 percent and SingTel was up 0.19 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks showed a lack of direction Tuesday but managed to end the day mostly higher following a late move to the upside.

The Dow added 164.07 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 26,828.47, while the NASDAQ gained 38.37 points or 0.35 percent to end at 10,941.17 and the S&P 500 rose 11.90 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,306.51.

The late-day strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken.

McConnell told reports he is prepared to support a coronavirus relief bill agreement between Democrats and the White House even is he has some problems with certain parts of it.

The amount of the federal unemployment benefit remains a key sticking point, as Republicans want to slash the benefit to $200 per week and Democrats want to keep it at $600 per week.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted another substantial increase in new orders for manufactured goods in June.

Crude oil futures settled notably higher Tuesday, with traders picking up positions ahead of inventory data on hopes of a drop in stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September settled at $41.70 a barrel, gaining $0.69 or 1.7 percent for the session.

Closer to home, Singapore will see June figures for consumer sales later today; in May, sales plummeted 21.5 percent on month and 52.1 percent on year.