The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 60 points or 1.9 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,230-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index rose 4.91 points or 0.15 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,231.54 after moving as low as 3,214.34. Volume was 1.9 billion shares worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars. There were 253 decliners and 242 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dropped 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Investment shed 0.26 percent, City Developments fell 0.12 percent, Comfort DelGro declined 0.69 percent, DBS Group added 0.33 percent, Hongkong Land spiked 1.36 percent, Keppel Corp rose 0.29 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust jumped 0.56 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slumped 0.40 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust retreated 0.60 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.34 percent, SATS plunged 1.22 percent, Singapore Exchange gained 0.31 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering soared 1.71 percent, SingTel climbed 0.39 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.38 percent, Wilmar International tumbled 0.71 percent, Yangzijiang Financial plummeted 2.78 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding surged 2.00 percent and Genting Singapore, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, SembCorp Industries and Thai Beverage were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a lower open on Tuesday, picking up steam as the session progressed to end firmly in the green.
The Dow jumped 264.36 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 33,180.14, while the NASDAQ spiked 113.86 points or 0.94 percent to end at 12,175.23 and the S&P 500 gained 39.25 points or 0.95 percent to close at 4,160.68.
Worries about slowing growth, a weak margin guidance from Target, and a sell-off in the technology space contributed to Wall Street's weakness in early trades. However, top technology stocks soon recovered and the broad market too started climbing higher as well.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of April, to $87.1 billion in April from $107.7 billion in March.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as prospects of increased demand from China and supply concerns outweighed concerns about growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.91 or 0.8 percent at $119.41 a barrel.