singapore stocks rise as investors buy despite global concerns 607692015

Investors on the Singapore exchange paid no heed Wednesday to overnight losses on Wall Street and early regional weakness in Asian stocks following the international sell-off in bonds, and instead bought up local stocks that were available at lower prices following the fall in the previous session.

Indices and sectors

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 10.84 points or 0.31 per cent higher to 3,453.17, taking the year-to-date performance to +2.62 per cent.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.04 per cent, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.34 per cent.

The Singapore Exchange traded a volume of 1,281.4 million shares valued at SG$993.7 million. Gainers outnumbered losers by 219/192.

Amongst the FTSE ST sectors, the top gainers were maritime (+1.55 per cent), healthcare (+1.41 per cent), real estate holding and development (+0.92 per cent) and China (+0.86 per cent). The biggest losers were utilities (-0.41 per cent), fledgling (-0.25 per cent), technology (-0.21 per cent) and real estate investment trusts (-0.12 per cent).

Stocks

Land transport company Comfortdelgro Corporation Ltd (SGX:C52) said net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 rose 6.8 per cent to SG$67.6 million from SG$63.3 million in the prior year period. Revenue was up 1.3 per cent to SG$963.5 million.

Stock brokerage UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited (SGX:U10) said net profit during the quarter ended March 31 rose 3.4 per cent to SG$18.7 million, while total revenue improved 6.9 per cent to SG$89.8 million. The company said that a buoyant stock market in Thailand helped offset the subdued market in Singapore where investor interest was weighed down by raising interest rates and a slowing economy.

Department store operator Parkson Retail Asia Pte Ltd (SGX:O9E) said earnings during the third quarter ended March 31 were up 5.5 per cent to SG$8 million, while revenue grew 9.2 per cent to SG$116.6 million. The company said earnings were driven by growth in same-store sales in Malaysia due to increased buying before the goods and services tax.

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Services said Wednesday that credit assessment ratings of Singapore’s three local banks, namely DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX:D05), United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX:U11) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Limited (SGX:O39), which currently share the same top ratings, may see a change in the near future due to their differing risk levels, according to Channel News Asia. Given that the three banks are expanding cross-border transactions, different factors such as geographical mix, varying exposure to capital market activities, differing funding structures and Basel III could change their risk profiles, and accordingly, credit ratings.

Meanwhile, DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX:D05) CEO Piyush Gupta said Tuesday in Mumbai that the bank, which was Singapore’s largest lender, had applied to the Reserve Bank of India for permission to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the country. "We are optimistic that the approval process should move speedily," Mr Gupta was quoted as saying by India's Economic Times. "We want to scale up our presence in India from a corporate bank to a universal bank," he added.

City Developments Limited (SGX:C09) announced a rise in net profit by 2.28 per cent during the quarter ended March 31 to SG$123 million, while revenue increased 11 per cent to SG$814.9 million. The company said that contributions from property projects such as Coco Palms, D’Nest and Jewel @ Buangkok helped drive profits, which were weighed by the absence of contributions from projects that were completed last year, according to Channel News Asia.

Integrated lifestyle group Amara Holdings Ltd (SGX:A34) said net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 jumped 8 per cent to SG$3.7 million driven by higher numbers of development properties sold and rental income from investment properties. Revenue grew 33 per cent to SG$23.8 million.

Shipbuilder Vard Holdings Ltd (SGX:MS7) reported that net profit for the quarter ended March 31 plunged to 89.7 per cent to 8 million Norwegian kroner (SG$1.43 million), due chiefly to losses on account of unrealised foreign exchange and higher interest expense. Revenue, on the other hand, was up 14.6 per cent to 3.06 billion kroner due to increased yard activity with subcontractors, according to Straits Times.

Ramba Energy Ltd (SGX:R14) disclosed Wednesday that it was negotiating with an unidentified party for an investment into its drilling operations at the West Jambi block in Sumatra, Indonesia. The board is also pursuing discussions with other parties for a potential farming out of a portion of the company’s working interest in the Lemang Production Sharing Contract, according to Straits Times.

Oilfield services firm Ezion (SGX:5ME) said Wednesday that net profit for its first-quarter ended March 31 fell 9.3 per cent to US$41.01 million (SG$54.37 million) from US$45.25 million, due primarily to the slump in oil prices. Revenue fell 4.6 per cent to US$90.12 million.

Engineering services provider Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX:S63) reported that net profit during its first-quarter ended March 31, 2015 declined 5 per cent SG$130 million compared to SG$137.2 million in the prior year period, primarily due to difficulties at its US shipbuilding operations, according to Straits Times. Revenue fell 3 per cent to SG$1.51 billion compared to SG$1.55 billion.

Economic news, currency and insight

The 42nd General Assembly of international insurance think tank Geneva Association convened for the first time ever on Wednesday in Singapore, which played host to global leaders in the insurance industry. The four-day event is being held in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and fund manager ACR Capital Holdings (ACR), according to Straits Times. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will host the delegates at the Istana and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will deliver the keynote speech at the assembly.

Flash estimates by SRX Property for April showed that rents of private condominiums and apartments remained flat compared to last month even though fewer units were leased out. However, on a year-on-year basis, rents for non-landed residential property last month are down 6.0 per cent from April 2014, and 11.2 per cent lower compared with their last peak in January 2013 said the Straits Times. In terms of volumes, 3,621 non-landed units were rented in April, down 11.9 per cent from the surge to 4,111 units in March, but 11.2 per cent higher compared with the 3,257 units rented a year ago.

On Wall Street, stocks ended lower awaiting pointers to the future direction of the market following the end of the earnings reporting season and as investors digested mostly soft US retail sales data. Macroeconomic triggers such as incoming data to be released on inflation and jobs would now be the market movers. "You're now heading from an earnings-centric market to a macro-focused market," said Andrew Frankel, co-president of Stuart Frankel & Co in New York, and as quoted by Reuters. "People seem to be in watch mode as they get an understanding of what's next." The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.574 points, or 0.04 percent, to 18,060.49, the S&P 500 lost 0.64 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,098.47 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.50 points, or 0.11 percent, to 4,981.69.