On Tuesday, the Singapore stock market concluded its three-day winning streak, during which it had gained nearly 40 points or 0.8%. The Straits Times Index (STI) currently hovers just below the 3,800 mark, with expectations of potentially accelerated losses on Wednesday.
The outlook for the Asian markets is cautious, primarily due to the FOMC's impending interest rate decision later today. Both the European and U.S. markets experienced declines, and similar trends are anticipated among Asian bourses, although opportunities for bargain hunting might emerge as the day progresses.
The STI closed modestly lower on Tuesday as property and industrial sectors saw downturns, whereas trust entities provided some support to counterbalance these losses.
The index recorded a decline of 21.10 points or 0.55%, settling at 3,799.93, having fluctuated between 3,796.07 and 3,818.60 throughout the session.
Detailed market performance saw CapitaLand Investment and UOL Group both decrease by 0.76%, City Developments declined 0.77%, DBS Group edged down 0.23%, DFI Retail Group slipped 1.71%, while Emperador gained 1.20%. Frasers Centrepoint Trust rose by 0.95%, Genting Singapore fell by 0.65%, and Hongkong Land saw a significant drop of 2.00%. Meanwhile, Keppel DC REIT increased by 0.47%, Keppel Ltd decreased by 1.16%, Mapletree Industrial Trust rose by 0.45%, Mapletree Logistics Trust added 0.79%, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.29%. SATS, Seatrium Limited, SembCorp Industries, Singapore Technologies Engineering, SingTel, Thai Beverage, Venture Corporation, Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and several trust entities showed varied performances, with some unchanged.
The sentiment from Wall Street was negative, with major indices opening lower on Tuesday and maintaining a downward trend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.58 points or 0.61% to close at 43,449.90; the NASDAQ slipped 64.83 points or 0.32% to finish at 20,109.06; and the S&P 500 dropped 23.47 points or 0.39% to close at 6,050.61.
This weakness was mainly due to a pullback in technology stocks, particularly in the networking and semiconductor sectors. Telecom, financial, housing, and steel stocks also faced declines.
Additionally, traders were focused on the Federal Reserve's forthcoming monetary policy announcement. The Fed is expected to reduce rates by another quarter-point, but all eyes will be on their statement and updated economic projections, including rate forecasts.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid worries about global demand outlook and potential market oversupply next year. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January were down $0.63 or 0.9%, settling at $70.08 a barrel.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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