Ahead of Monday's holiday for Wesak Day, the Singapore stock market had halted the seven-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 190 points or 4.7 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,190-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with support from energy stocks likely limited by weakness from technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index gathered 25.98 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 3,191.16 after trading between 3,189.68 and 3,213.22. Volume was 1.46 billion shares worth 1.46 billion Singapore dollars. There were 335 gainers and 158 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT was up 0.75 percent, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust spiked 3.18 percent, CapitaLand Investment rose 0.26 percent, City Developments skyrocketed 6.65 percent, Comfort DelGro increased 1.44 percent, Dairy Farm International soared 3.38 percent, DBS Group collected 0.55 percent, Genting Singapore gained 1.31 percent, Hongkong Land added 0.44 percent, Keppel Corp accelerated 2.02 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust strengthened 1.73 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Venture Corporation both perked 0.82 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust rose 1.25 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was up 0.09 percent, SATS added 1.41 percent, SembCorp Industries rallied 1.84 percent, Singapore Exchange jumped 1.79 percent, SingTel tumbled 2.14 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 1.49 percent, United Overseas Bank advanced 1.46 percent, Wilmar International improved 1.45 percent, Yangzijiang Financial surged 4.82 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gathered 1.23 percent and Singapore Technologies Engineering was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened lower on Monday but saw time on both sides of the unchanged line, eventually ending mixed.
The Dow rose 26.76 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 32,223.42, while the NASDAQ plummeted 142.21 points or 1.20 percent to end at 11,662.79 and the S&P 500 sank 15.88 points or 0.39 percent to close at 4,008.01.
Disappointing economic data from the U.S., Europe and China weighed on sentiment, prompting investors to largely stay cautious.
A downward revision in EU growth forecast by the European Commission, as did data showing German wholesale price inflation hitting a record high.
In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in May.
Crude oil futures shrugged off early weakness and settled sharply higher on Monday, buoyed by rising gasoline prices after a drop in stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $3.71 or 3.4 percent at $114.20 a barrel.
Closer to home, Singapore will provide Aril data for non-oil domestic exports later today; in March, NODX fell 2.3 percent on month and climbed 7.7 percent on year, resulting in a trade surplus of SGD4.172 billion.
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