The Singapore stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, advancing almost 20 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 2,545-point plateau although the rally is likely to stall on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on doubts for stimulus to combat the rising number of coronavirus cases. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The STI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index gained 10.55 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 2,543.57 after trading between 2,537.31 and 2,549.52. Volume was 1.59 billion shares worth 945.6 million Singapore dollars. There were 220 gainers and 198 decliners.
Among the actives, SembCorp Industries plunged 2.08 percent, while Hongkong Land surged 1.86 percent, Wilmar International plunged 1.78 percent, Genting Singapore soared 1.49 percent, Comfort DelGro spiked 1.37 percent, Dairy Farm International tanked 1.32 percent, CapitaLand Mall Trust accelerated 1.05 percent, SATS and Singapore Press Holdings both rallied 0.99 percent, SingTel tumbled 0.92 percent, DBS Group jumped 0.84 percent, Singapore Airlines climbed 0.57 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering advanced 0.56 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.51 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust added 0.48 percent, Keppel Corp gained 0.44 percent, CapitaLand rose 0.36 percent, Singapore Exchange lost 0.33 percent, Ascendas REIT fell 0.31 percent, City Developments increased 0.13 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was up 0.11 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Thai Beverage and CapitaLand Commercial Trust were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks showed a lack of direction early in Monday's trade but headed firmly south as the day progressed.
The Dow tumbled 410.89 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 28,195.42, while the NASDAQ sank 192.67 points or 1.65 percent to close at 11,478.88 and the S&P 500 dropped 56.89 points or 1.63 percent to end at 3,426.92.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected concerns about whether lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill, with reports suggesting there remains an array of additional differences that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours.
In economic news, the National Association of Homebuilders said that homebuilder confidence climbed to a fresh record high in October versus expectations for no change.
Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by lingering concerns about energy demand outlook due to rising coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November ended at $40.83 a barrel, down $0.05 or 0.1 percent at $40.83 a barrel.
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