The Singapore stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the seven-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 140 points or 3.9 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,620-point plateau and it figures to tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion, although some of the more oversold markets may correct to the downside.

The STI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks, telecoms and REITs,

For the day, the index slumped 15.80 points or 0.43 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,622.74 after peaking at 3,652.62.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 0.96 percent, while CapitaLand Investment surged 2.04 percent, City Developments rallied 1.51 percent, Comfort DelGro gained 0.67 percent, DBS Group tumbled 1.60 percent, DFI Retail skyrocketed 9.14 percent, Hongkong Land climbed 1.10 percent, Keppel DC REIT rose 0.46 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust sank 0.40 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust added 0.70 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dropped 0.90 percent, SATS stumbled 1.37 percent, Seatrium Limited strengthened 1.16 percent, SembCorp Industries improved 0.74 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Wilmar International perked 0.32 percent, Yangzijiang Financial jumped 1.47 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell 0.37 percent and Emperador, Genting Singapore, SingTel, Thai Beverage, Keppel Ltd and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday, bounced back and forth across the line and finally ended mixed and little changed.

The Dow added 83.57 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 42,208.22, while the NASDAQ gained 100.25 points or 0.56 percent to end at 18,074.52 and the S&P 500 rose 14.36 points or 0.25 percent to close at 5,732.93.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came on continued optimism for more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the coming months.

The upside was limited by concerns for the economy after the Conference Board reported a notable deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in September.

Oil prices rallied on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for demand eased after the Chinese central bank announced a slew of stimulus measures to boost the nation's economy. An escalation in tensions in the Middle East, and reports of a new storm in Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended up by $1.19 or about 1.7 percent at $71.56 a barrel. – RTT News