To The Moon

The Singapore stock market has finished lower in eight straight sessions, sinking more than 135 points or 4.4 percent to a fresh 19-month closing low. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,015-point plateau although it may finally find support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting after several days of volatility and heavy selling, while stability in the bond markets adds to the positive sentiment. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The STI finished modestly lower again on Monday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property and industrial companies.

For the day, the index dropped 23.86 points or 0.78 percent to close at 3,015.75 after trading between 2,991.05 and 3,032.80. Volume was 1.8 billion shares worth 1.4 billion Singapore dollars. There were 328 decliners and 217 gainers.

Among the actives, Ascendas REIT rose 0.38 percent, while City Developments gained 0.40 percent, DBS Group tanked 2.02 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 2.03 percent, Keppel Corp was up 0.15 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust added 0.61 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust climbed 0.88 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 0.68 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation declined 1.03 percent, SATS fell 0.37 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slumped 0.62 percent, SingTel dropped 0.44 percent, Thai Beverage surged 3.54 percent, United Overseas Bank retreated 0.65 percent, Wilmar International skidded 0.57 percent, Yangzijiang Financial tumbled 1.43 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 2.56 percent and Emperador, Genting Singapore, Comfort DelGro, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, SembCorp Industries and Keppel DC REIT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow surged 550.99 points or 1.86 percent to finish at 30,185.82, while the NASDAQ soared 354.41 points or 3.43 percent to end at 10.675.80 and the S&P 500 jumped 94.88 points or 2.65 percent to close at 3,677.95.

An early pullback by treasury yields fueled the buying interest, although yields regained ground over the course of the session. The markets also benefitted from strong earnings news from financial giant Bank of America (BAC)

The strength also followed news that the U.K. government is reversing course on previously announced fiscal plans that contributed to turmoil in the global bond markets.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that regional manufacturing activity contracted more than expected in October.

Crude oil futures slumped on Monday, extending losses from the previous session as worries about a recession weighed on the outlook for energy demand and pushed down oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November eased $0.15 or 0.2 percent at $85.46 a barrel.