The Singapore stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 40 points or 1% along the way. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,830-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the US bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The STI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the properties and a mixed performance from the industrials.

For the day, the index rose 6.33 points or 0.17% to finish at 3,828.17 after trading between 3,820.11 and 3,836.04.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust fell 0.50%, while CapitaLand Investment plummeted 2.27%, City Developments dipped 0.39%, Comfort DelGro dropped 0.68%, DBS Group rallied 1.25%, while Genting Singapore sank 0.65%, Hongkong Land plunged 2.26%, Keppel DC REIT improved 0.90%, Keppel Ltd slumped 0.86%, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust tanked 1.61%, Mapletree Industrial Trust slid 0.44%, Mapletree Logistics Trust tumbled 1.53%, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.36%, SATS lost 0.54%, Seatrium Limited surged 2.27%, SembCorp Industries eased 0.18%, Singapore Technologies Engineering shed 0.64%, SingTel was down 0.32%, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding declined 1.01%, and Thai Beverage, Wilmar International, Yangzijiang Financial, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, and Emperador were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and finished deep in the red.

The Dow stumbled 178.20 points or 0.42% to finish at 42,528.36, while the NASDAQ plummeted 375.30 points or 1.89% to close at 19,489.68 and the S&P 500 sank 66.35 points or 1.11% to end at 5,909.03.

The sharp pullback by stocks came amid a notable increase by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest closing level in eight months.

The jump by treasury yields, which led to concerns about the outlook for interest rates, came following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data.

The Institute for Supply Management said US service sector activity increased more than expected in December. The report also said the prices index surged to a one-year high, leading to concerns that inflation will remain sticky. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the US unexpectedly increased in November.

Oil prices climbed higher Tuesday amid a possible supply shortage after China decided to reject imports from Iran and Russia, while unusually cold weather in the US also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up US$0.69 or 0.94% at US$74.25 a barrel.

RTTNews