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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 1.22 pct

Xinhua, January 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 1.22 percent higher on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its roll-out of a bigger-than-expected quantitative easing program.

The ECB's quantitative easing program will pump 60 billion Euros a month into the Euro-zone economy by buying Euro-zone government and corporate bonds. It is set to run from March until September next year. But ECB President Mario Draghi made clear it could be extended if the bank felt that was necessary.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia announced that King Abdullah had died and his successor, Salman, moved quickly to name his own heir to rule the world's biggest oil exporter. Singapore's offshore and marine shares ended firmer amid crude oil price rebound.

DBS Group Research said investors' attention could turn to the Greek election this weekend. The concern is that the country could be booted out from the Euro-zone if the anti-austerity Syriza party wins.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 41.21 points to 3,411.50 points. Trading volume was 1.8 billion shares worth 1.57 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 324 to 167, while 499 stocks did not move.

Singapore Exchange Limited inched up 0.3 percent to 7.96 Singapore dollars. The bourse operator announced plans to start trading Chinese equity-index options as investors seek ways to hedge risks. It is in talks with the China Securities Regulatory Commission on when the Singapore bourse can introduce options on the FTSE China A50 Index. Volume on China A50 futures traded in Singapore surged 183 percent in the three months ended December 31.

CapitaMall Trust rose 1.8 percent to 2.25 Singapore dollars. It announced its fourth-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) was up 5. 1 percent year-on-year to 2.86 Singapore cents while full year DPU was up 5.6 percent year-on-year to 10.27 Singapore cents. This was attributed to the strong performance of its malls in Singapore. Its portfolio occupancy was 98.8 percent as at the end of last year. Going forward, the Trust is confident of creating value for its unitholders due to its scale and strong retailer network.

Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 2.2 percent to 65.05 U. S. dollars, while M1 Limited became one of the top losers by falling 0.5 percent to 3.74 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.33 Singapore dollars) Endi