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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.2 pct

Xinhua, April 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.2 percent higher on Thursday, although trading was quiet ahead of Friday's key employment figures in the U.S. and long weekend.

Market in average forecast U.S. non-farm payrolls to show an increase of 245,000 jobs in March, following a gain of 290,000 in February. Data on Wednesday showed the pace of U.S. manufacturing growth in March slowed to its slowest in nearly two years.

Singapore bourse and U.S. markets will be closed on Friday for Easter holidays, with some European markets closed Friday through Monday, to reopen on Tuesday. Hong Kong market will be closed Friday through Tuesday, to reopen on Wednesday.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 6.73 points to 3, 453.75 points. Trading volume was 1.39 billion shares worth 926 million Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 225 to 188, while 521 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, IPC Corporation surged 16.3 percent to 20 Singapore cents. Singapore billionaire Oei Hong Leong planned to buy all the shares of the property developer that he had not yet owned.

Oei's offer values IPC Corp at 145 million Singapore dollars, or at 17 Singapore cents per share.

The share price move indicates that there could be a counter- offer brewing to prevent Oei from taking full control of the firm. Oei owns 30.56 percent of the company and intends to keep it listed

Mapletree Logistics Trust shed 0.8 percent to 1.235 Singapore dollars. It has entered into an agreement with Nippon Express to undertake an asset enhancement initiative (AEI) at Moriya Centre in Ibaraki, Japan.

The planned AEI will be undertaken at an estimated cost of 16.2 million Singapore dollars. Nippon Express, which was the existing tenant, will lease the additional block till December 2021, offering income visibility for Mapletree Logistics Trust.

Noble Group rose 1.6 percent to 93 Singapore cents. It has repurchased 20 million U.S. dollar worth of the medium term notes due 2018 and issued in March 2013. As of 1 April 2015, there will be 380 million U.S. dollars in aggregate principal amount of the medium term notes outstanding.

Among top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 2.4 percent to 42 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 0.4 percent to 62.70 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars) Endi