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The Business Times Online Edition - Singapore

Total news: 291
Last news: January 5, 2009 22:00:00

US INVESTMENT house Merrill Lynch titled its latest report on Singapore property Do not catch a falling knife, but it may as well have applied it to the entire stock market, judging by present conditions - despite Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index rising almost 2 per cent, the Straits Times Index (STI) hardly budged, closing 2.1 points lower at 2,705.09. - [Read more]

NOT unexpectedly, Mondays 10-point bounce in the Straits Times Index (STI) proved to be short-lived as the selling to which investors have become accustomed to resumed yesterday following Wall Streets Monday plunge. Judging by the afternoon bounce the index enjoyed though, traders could have positioned themselves for a Tuesday rebound in the US - even though the STI closed a net 26.26 points down at 2,707.19, it was still about 17 points above its intraday low of 2,690. - [Read more]

A STRONG Friday close on Wall Street, coupled with softer oil prices, helped perk up most Asian bourses at the start of a new week. - [Read more]

THE backup in oil prices on Friday should provide some relief from the almost non-stop selling of the past few weeks, but stocks everywhere face issues that run deeper than just energy costs. - [Read more]

IT was another bad week for local stocks - from banks to property to S-shares. - [Read more]

BROKERS would have been better off staying at home yesterday, or if they were at work, watching the Olympics on TV instead of stock prices on their trading terminals. - [Read more]

A REBOUND in Hong Kong after days of heavy selling helped ease some of the strain here yesterday and lifted the Straits Times Index (STI) off its 21-month low to gain 23.36 points to 2,751.75. - [Read more]

TRADERS who sold on Monday in expectation of Wall Street weakness found their actions vindicated yesterday when stocks throughout the region collapsed in the wake of a Monday sell-off in the US. - [Read more]

WE ASKED in this column yesterday whether the Straits Times Index (STI) would hold on to the 2,800 level or sink to a year-low. And the markets answer was resounding. - [Read more]

LAST weeks column advised readers to guard against what could well prove to be another false Wall Street rally that had, at the time, come after oil prices dropped below US$115 per barrel. - [Read more]

THERE really wasnt that much to distinguish this weeks trading from last weeks - or, for that matter, from the dozen or so weeks before that. It was a tale of tracking Wall Street, basing ones decisions on expectations of how the US market would perform later each day. - [Read more]

LATE-AFTERNOON bounces in Hong Kong and Europe, plus a rise in US futures, sparked hopes yesterday that Wall Street could finish Thursday higher, saving the Straits Times Index (STI) from a third straight loss that might have taken it below 2,800. - [Read more]

THE Encarta World English Dictionary defines attrition as the gradual wearing away of morale and the powers of resistance by persistent attacks. Its a decent enough description for current conditions in stock markets everywhere, including Singapore. - [Read more]

WERE hostage to Hong Kongs volatility, said a dealer yesterday. When things are so uncertain, what can you do? - [Read more]

SINGAPORE stocks rose yesterday, but gave up some of their opening gains as investors remained cautious about the week ahead. Buoyed by a strong finish for US stocks on Friday, prices here opened mostly higher, but fell back later in the day as a slew of economic reports weighed on the prospects of local companies. - [Read more]

THE last time oil prices fell by as much as they did last Friday was on Tuesday, but the subsequent Wall Street rally only resulted in a modest gain for stocks in this part of the world that did not last beyond Wednesday. - [Read more]

THIS weeks trading provided a harsh reminder of a simple but often overlooked fact of stock market life - its all about anticipating the future rather than reacting to the past. - [Read more]

WEDNESDAYS bounce was followed immediately by a volatile and weak session yesterday, a relatively inexplicable development given that Hong Kong managed a rise and Europe opened with modest gain. - [Read more]

AS CORRECTLY predicted in yesterdays column, Tuesdays market reversal was indeed thanks to buying ahead of an anticipated Wall Street rally - the US market surged on Tuesday in the wake of a big drop in oil prices. - [Read more]

FOLLOWING recent patterns, traders yesterday bet heavily on Wall Street rising on Tuesday. - [Read more]