On Monday, the Singapore stock market broke a four-day losing streak, during which it had declined by nearly 100 points or 2.8 percent. Currently, the Straits Times Index (STI) is positioned slightly above the 3,750-point threshold and is anticipated to open positively on Tuesday.
The outlook for Asian markets is optimistic, with technology stocks expected to drive the upward momentum. While European markets remained steady, U.S. indices showed gains, likely influencing Asian markets to follow suit.
The STI experienced modest gains on Monday, with financial, property, and industrial stocks contributing positively. By the end of trading, the index had risen by 32.40 points, or 0.87 percent, closing at 3,752.33, having fluctuated between 3,715.52 and 3,763.13 throughout the day.
Active stocks included CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Seatrium Limited, both increasing by 1.05 percent. CapitaLand Investment climbed 1.57 percent, City Developments rose 0.79 percent, and DBS Group surged 1.26 percent. Meanwhile, Comfort DelGro declined by 0.68 percent. Emperador advanced 1.20 percent, Genting Singapore climbed 0.67 percent, Hongkong Land strengthened by 0.93 percent, and Keppel DC REIT saw a 1.42 percent increase. Other notable movers included Keppel Ltd up 0.45 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust rising 0.92 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advancing 0.80 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation adding 0.61 percent, SATS gathering 0.28 percent, SembCorp Industries edging up by 0.19 percent, and Singapore Technologies Engineering improving by 0.44 percent. SingTel fell by 0.64 percent, Wilmar International went up by 0.33 percent, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.81 percent. Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Financial, and Thai Beverage remained unchanged.
The positive trend from Wall Street offered encouraging signs, as the major indices began Monday's session flat but eventually turned positive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 66.69 points, or 0.16 percent, finishing at 42,906.95. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ experienced a substantial rise of 192.29 points, or 0.98 percent, closing at 19,764.88, and the S&P 600 gained 43.22 points, or 0.73 percent, reaching 5,974.07.
The tech-centric NASDAQ's growth was spurred by a rally in semiconductor stocks, with notable strength also seen in computer hardware stocks. Overall, trading activity was relatively muted, as investors appeared hesitant to engage in large-scale moves ahead of what is expected to be a quiet week due to the upcoming Christmas holiday on Wednesday.
In economic developments, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a more significant than anticipated decline in new orders for manufactured durable goods in November. Additionally, the Conference Board highlighted an unexpected drop in consumer confidence in December.
Oil prices settled lower on Monday amid worries about potential oversupply and the influence of a stronger dollar. Specifically, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February saw a slight decrease of $0.26, or 0.3 percent, settling at $69.20 per barrel.