singapore stocks edge lower in their second consecutive losing session this week 633942015

Singapore stocks shrugged away record overnight closes on Wall Street, ending in the red for the second consecutive day, though volumes continued to edge higher.

Indices and sectors

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 5.53 points or 0.16 per cent lower to 3,454.04, taking the year-to-date performance to +2.64 per cent.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.18 per cent, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.48 per cent.

The Singapore Exchange traded a volume of 1,787.8 million shares valued at SG$972.8 million. Gainers outnumbered losers by 253/203.

Amongst the FTSE ST sectors, the top gainers were basic materials (+1.77 per cent), utilities (+1.65 per cent), CataList index (+1.00 per cent) and fledgling (+0.84 per cent). The largest losing sectors were consumer services (-0.53 per cent), telecommunications (-0.52 per cent), consumer goods (-0.51 per cent) and healthcare (-0.42 per cent).

Stocks

CitySpring Infrastructure Trust (SGX:A7RU) said Monday that it had completed the acquisition of the entire assets and liabilities of Keppel Infrastructure Trust paying a consideration of 1.33 billion CIT units at SG$0.496 each. Pursuant to renaming the trust  Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT), the resumption of trading in the trust under the new name commenced from Tuesday, 19 May. The enlarged KIT is said to be the largest Singapore infrastructure-focused business trust listed on the Singapore Exchange.

Accordia Golf Trust (SGX:ADQU) reported that net loss attributable to unit holders of ¥981 million (SG$10.9 million) during the fourth quarter ended March 31 was 5.1 per cent lower than its forecast. The trust announced a distribution per unit of ¥5.16 (5.71 cents) for the period from Aug 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015 (FY2014/2015), as reported by Straits Times.

Noble Group Limited (SGX:N21) announced Tuesday that it had successfully closed a syndicated committed unsecured revolving loan facility aggregating US$2.3 billion. The global offering met with participation from 35 banks, and its proceeds will be used by Noble to refinance existing debt and for general corporate purposes, according to Straits Times.

GSS Energy (SGX:41F) announced Tuesday that it had agreed to invest US$5 million with Ramba Energy Ltd (SGX:R14) towards participation in the latter’s exploration program at the West Jambi block in Sumatra, Indonesia, said the Straits Times. Its participation in Ramba's exploration programme represents a strategic geographic expansion from its Central and East Java operations into Sumatra through the West Jambi block, which will enhance its overall growth potential, said GSS Energy.

Oil trading company Hin Leong Trading Pte, which owns a 65 per cent stake in Universal Terminal Pte and is its biggest shareholder, is considering the sale of a minority stake worth about SG$500 million in the Singapore oil-storage terminal, according to Bloomberg. Founded by Singapore businessman Lim Oon Kuin, Hin Leong is said to be working with HSBC Holdings PLC to identify potential buyers for the stake, after a proposed SG$1 billion IPO by Universal Terminal was postponed last year.

Changjiang Fertilizer Holdings Ltd (SGX:JA9) clarified Tuesday a query by the Singapore Exchange on why the company incurred staff costs during the first quarter ended March 31 when it had ceased business operations in financial year 2013/2014. "Due to the ongoing negotiation with local governments, we are unable to terminate the labour contracts as the terms of compensation settlement with the workers are not concluded yet. As such, we continue to accrue for the salaries of the workers in the interim," the company said in a statement.

Economic news, currency and insight

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced Tuesday that it will report detailed data on GDP during the March quarter on May 26, and that its Economic Survey of Singapore, which contains  detailed breakdowns of GDP, would be released at 8 AM local time on that date. On April 14, the government’s flash GDP estimate showed an annualised growth of 1.1 per cent compared to the prior quarter, according to AsiaOne.

According to Straits Times, the founding members of the China led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will conduct a three-day meeting in Singapore to thrash out the operational policies for the new bank as well as the draft articles of agreement. The meeting will commence on Wednesday and will be co-chaired by Shi Yaobin, vice minister of China's Ministry of Finance, and MOF deputy secretary Yee Ping Yi.

US stocks have ended mixed, after the Dow and the S&P 500 earlier jumped to fresh intraday records, according to the Courier Mail. At the closing bell on Tuesday, the DJIA added 14 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 18,312, a new record close. The S&P 500 fell just shy of a record close after yielding 1 point, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,128 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,070.