FX.co ★ Rebound Predicted For Singapore Stock Market

The Singapore stock market experienced a decline on Monday, following a brief pause from a two-day downward trend where it had decreased by nearly 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Straits Times Index (STI) now hovers just above the 3,730 mark and is anticipated to rebound on Tuesday.

The global outlook for Asian markets appears positive, driven by optimism for the global economic future, despite some limitations caused by weak oil prices. European and U.S. markets performed well, setting a potential direction for Asian exchanges.

STI saw a modest drop on Monday, amid mixed results from financial, property, and industrial sectors. For the day, the index fell by 14.63 points or 0.39 percent, closing at 3,731.39, after fluctuating between 3,730.96 and 3,764.90.

Key market movements included CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust climbing 1.55 percent, CapitaLand Investment rising 1.08 percent, and City Developments jumping 2.33 percent. Comfort DelGro edged up 0.68 percent, while DBS Group dipped 0.19 percent and Genting Singapore slid 1.29 percent. Hongkong Land decreased by 0.43 percent, while Keppel DC REIT surged 7.21 percent. Other notable performances included Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust up 0.82 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust up 0.88 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust up 3.20 percent, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation down 1.64 percent. SATS gained 0.52 percent, Seatrium Limited increased by 1.05 percent, while SembCorp Industries dropped 0.38 percent and Singapore Technologies Engineering declining by 2.14 percent. SingTel fell 0.65 percent, with Thai Beverage and Frasers Centrepoint Trust both advancing by 0.95 percent. Wilmar International went up 0.65 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.25 percent, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding decreased 2.23 percent. Emperador and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust remained unchanged.

The positive momentum from Wall Street is apparent, as major averages opened positively on Monday and maintained an upward trajectory throughout.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 440.06 points or 0.99 percent to close at 44,736.57, while the NASDAQ increased by 51.19 points or 0.48 percent to reach 20,220.36 and the S&P 500 rose by 18.03 points or 0.30 percent to end at 5,987.37.

Market optimism was buoyed by the announcement that President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. Bessent is considered supportive of the equities market and a proponent of deficit reduction. He advocated for a gradual implementation of Trump's proposed tariff increases to potentially mitigate inflation impacts.

Nonetheless, enthusiasm tempered as the session advanced, with traders cautious of making substantial moves pending the release of key economic reports in the forthcoming days.

Oil prices saw a notable drop on Monday, affected by expectations of an imminent cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for January fell $2.30 or 3.2 percent, closing at $68.94 per barrel.

Closer to home, Singapore is set to release its October industrial production data today. In September, industrial output remained stagnant month-on-month but saw a 9.8 percent increase compared to the previous year.