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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.54 pct

Xinhua, March 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.54 percent higher on Friday, ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later.

Yellen is scheduled to speak on "monetary policy" and her comments will be closely analyzed by the investors. Most markets across the globe were volatile in recent weeks amid uncertainty over the timeline of the Federal Reserve's first rate hike.

Meanwhile, oil-related stocks in Singapore retreated slightly as the Saudi military operation against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had not affected the oil facilities of major Gulf producers. However, there were still concerns that the conflict could spread and disrupt Middle East oil shipments

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 18.51 points to 3,450.10 points. Trading volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 1.12 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 257 to 146, while 529 stocks did not move.

Keppel Corporation dropped 1.1 percent to 8.95 Singapore dollars. It has extended the deadline for buying back Keppel Land' s shares until March 31, from its earlier timeline of Thursday, even though the firm has crossed the ownership threshold needed to take Keppel Land private.

As of the end of trade Thursday, Keppel Corporation owned 93.2 percent of Keppel Land. Keppel Corp is taking Keppel Land, its developer unit, private, as it aimed to consolidate its business operations into three segments: marine, property and infrastructure.

COSCO Corporation Group shed 1 percent to 51.5 Singapore cents. It has secured a contract with Maersk Line to build seven 3,600 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) container vessels. COSCO and Maersk Line have agreed to keep the contract price confidential. The container vessels are scheduled for delivery between April 2017 and November 2017.

Among top gainers, UOB rose 1.1 percent to 23.26 Singapore dollars, while DBS became one of the top losers by falling 0.1 percent to 20.32 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.37 Singapore dollars) Endi