The Singapore stock market on Monday snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,105-point plateau although it's expected to rebound on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian marketsis optimistic on easing fears regarding the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The STI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financials, gains from the properties and a mixed picture from the industrials.
For the day, the index fell 4.04 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 3,104.24 after trading between 3,104.24 and 3,113.55. Volume was 863.6 million shares worth 394.2 million Singapore dollars. There were 190 gainers and 139 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT and DBS Group both fell 0.34 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Mapletree Commercial Trust both climbed 0.50 percent, City Developments rallied 0.60 percent, Comfort DelGro advanced 0.73 percent, Dairy Farm International surged 2.56 percent, Genting Singapore jumped 0.65 percent, Keppel Corp and Hongkong Land both dropped 0.58 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.18 percent, SATS rose 0.26 percent, Singapore Exchange spiked 0.98 percent, Singapore Press Holdings added 0.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.53 percent, Thai Beverage accelerated 0.76 percent, United Overseas Bank sank 0.60 percent, Wilmar International lost 0.49 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding soared 1.54 percent and Mapletree Logistics Trust, SembCorp Industries, Singapore Airlines and SingTel were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending at or near record closing highs.
The Dow spiked 351.82 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 36,302.38, while the NASDAQ surged 217.89 points or 1.39 percent to end at 15,871.26 and the S&P 500 gained 65.40 points or 1.38 percent to close at 4,791.19.
The continued strength on Wall Street came amid easing concerns about the economic impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. While Omicron seems to be more transmissible, the new strain purportedly causes milder symptoms and could accelerate the end of the pandemic.
Stocks may also have benefitted from so-called window-dressing going into the end of the year, with traders looking to boost the value of the portfolios.
Crude oil futures ended sharply higher Monday amid hopes the Omicron variant will not any significantly impact global economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up by $1.78 or 2.4 percent at $75.57 a barrel.