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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.38 pct following rebound in crude oil price

Xinhua, January 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.38 percent higher on Thursday, buoyed by oil price rise and expectation of delay in U.S. rate hike.

Crude oil futures posted their largest percentage gain in more than two-and-a-half years overnight with the U.S. benchmark rising 5.6 percent to 48.48 U.S. dollars a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange.

While weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales in December and disappointing results from J.P. Morgan Chase dragged down stocks in the U.S. on Wednesday, the disappointing U.S. data also led investors to push further out the day when the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to deliver its first interest rate increase, which many analysts had suspected could come in June this year.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 12.68 points to close at 3,338.84 points. Trading volume was 1.28 billion shares worth 1.06 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers slightly outnumbered decliners 223 to 218, while 503 stocks closed unchanged.

Voyage Research said "we estimate that the Straits Times Index will continue to see downward pressure at its 3,300 points resistance due to global economic weaknesses."

Popular Holdings soared 34.8 percent to 31 Singapore cents. Chou Cheng Ngok, the chief executive officer and executive director of Popular, is attempting to take the company private. The offer price for each offer share is 32 Singapore cents in cash, representing a 39.1 percent premium over Popular Holdings' last traded price of 23 Singapore cents.

ISDN Holdings Limited closed flat at 24 Singapore cents. It announced that it has purchased a 49 percent stake in PT Punggawa Datara Energy for 563,500 U.S. dollars. Punggawa Datara Energy is a company in the business of constructing, operating and maintaining of hydropower plants in Indonesia. However, it has not commenced operations as yet and does not have any meaningful assets in the company.

Among the top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 0.6 percent to 39.11 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Strategic became one of the top losers by falling 0.9 percent to 35.12 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.33 Singapore dollars) Endi