(RTTNews.com) – The Singapore stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the five-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 55 points or 1.7 percent. The Straits Times Index settled just above the 3,375-point plateau, and the market is looking at further strength on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to a pullback by the value of the U.S. dollar, which gave back ground following recent strength. The European and U.S. markets ended firmly in the green, and the Asian bourses are also tipped to open higher.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the airlines, plantations and financials were capped by weakness from the properties.

For the day, the index advanced 13.27 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,376.04 after trading between 3,358.03 and 3,387.36. Volume was 1.06 billion shares worth 901 million Singapore dollars. There were 284 decliners and 155 gainers, with 495 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, SIA surged 3.53 percent, while DBS Group collected 0.61 percent, United Overseas Bank gained 0.84 percent, Singapore Exchange fell 0.78 percent, Golden Agri-Resources climbed 1.25 percent, Wilmar International added 0.62 percent, Noble Group dropped 2.11 percent, Hongkong Land fell 1.56 percent and Thai Beverage Company surged 2.76 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Monday, offsetting last week’s weakness and lifting the major averages well off the monthly lows.

The Dow jumped 228.11 points or 1.3 percent to 17,977.42, while the NASDAQ surged 57.75 points or 1.2 percent to 4,929.51 and the S&P 500 soared 27.79 points or 1.4 percent to 2,081.19.

The U.S. dollar showed a notable decline versus the euro after surging last week amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off disappointing economic data, including a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing that homebuilder confidence fell to its lowest level in eight months in March.

A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production grew less than expected in February. The weaker than expected data may have helped ease concerns that the Fed will raise interest rates sooner than expected.

Closer to home, Singapore will provide February data for non-oil domestic exports, which are expected to ease 0.6 percent on year after gaining 4.3 percent in January. Electronics NODX is called lower by 8.7 percent after rising 5.0 percent in the previous month.

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