The Singapore stock market is expected to pause on Tuesday after three straight days of gains, where the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.28% or 10.68 points on Monday to close at 3,821.03. The session saw telecom stocks posting gains, while industrial counters weakened and financial stocks ended mixed.

Among the notable movers, DBS Group rose 1.30%, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) climbed 1.43%, and SingTel added 0.32%. On the downside, Keppel DC REIT plunged 3.17%, Hongkong Land fell 1.32%, Emperador dropped 1.19%, and SembCorp Industries retreated 1.26%.

The overnight performance on Wall Street provided a mixed lead for Asian markets. The NASDAQ surged 1.24% to a record 20,173.89, buoyed by significant gains in semiconductor and networking stocks. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 added 0.38%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%.

Investors remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later today, with widespread expectations for a 25-basis point rate cut. However, persistent inflationary concerns have tempered overall optimism, as markets assess whether the Fed will ease rates at a slower pace next year.

Oil prices continued to face downward pressure, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures falling US$0.58 to settle at US$70.71 per barrel.

Locally, Singapore's focus will turn to the release of November's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) data on Tuesday. In October, NODX fell 7.4% on a month-on-month basis and 4.6% year-on-year, with a trade surplus of S$4.41 billion. Market watchers will look to this report for further clarity on the state of Singapore's trade-dependent economy.

The STI's next resistance level is seen at 3,840 points, while support stands at 3,800 points. With mixed global signals, the market is likely to experience a muted session as investors await further direction from regional economic data and developments in the US.

RTTNews