(RTTNews.com) – The Singapore stock market picked up just a single point on Monday, but that was enough to halt the two-day slide in which it had shed almost 40 points or 1.2 percent. The Straits Times Index remained just above the 3,400-point plateau, and the market may extend its rebound on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat following M&A news and mixed economic data. The European markets were mixed but little changed, and the U.S. markets were firmly higher – and the Asian bourses are also tipped to open in the green.
The STI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the property stocks and telecoms were capped by weakness from the financial shares ad plantation stocks.
For the day, the index added 1.03 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,403.89 after trading between 3,389.73 and 3,412.08.
Among the actives, City Developments shed 0.59 percent, while Hongkong Land climbed 1.72 percent, DBS Group tumbled 1.48 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.86 percent, Golden Agri-Resources dropped 1.23 percent, Noble Group plummeted 3.08 percent, SembCorp Industries dipped 0.71 percent and SingTel added 0.47 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks rallied despite a mixed batch of economic news, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ closing above 5,000 for the first time in fifteen years
The NASDAQ finished up 44.57 points or 0.9 percent at 5,008.10, just off an all-time intraday high. The S&P 500 added 12.89 points, or 0.6 percent to 2,117.39, a fresh all-time high. The Dow jumped 155.93 points or 0.9 percent to 18,288.63, also a record high.
While gauges of most sectors were positive, oil stocks struggled, as reflected in a 2.4 percent drop in the PHLX Oil Service Index.
In economic news, new data showed that personal income rose in January, although spending unexpectedly declined. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said that U.S. manufacturing activity growth slipped to its lowest in 13 months, while construction spending unexpectedly fell in January.
Traders also weighed a flurry of merger news as NXP Semiconductors reached a deal to acquire Freescale Semiconductor for $ 11.8 billion. Also, PayPal, the online payment unit of Ebay, agreed to buy mobile payment company Paydiant for $ 280 million.
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