Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.62 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.62 percent lower on Monday as investors took profit following Beijing 's latest stimulus.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) introduced during the weekend its second reduction in less than three months to banks' reserve ratios and the largest in magnitude since the 2008 financial crisis, to counter a slowing domestic economy. Before the PBOC's move, China's security regulator announced it would allow fund managers to lend shares for short-selling, and would also expand the number of stocks investors can short sell, in a bid to raise the supply of securities in the market.

DBS Group Research said "we see limited upside above 3,520 points for now but any meaningful pullback should find support at 3,430 points and 3,450 points." The research house added that " given the recent strong run-up, penny stocks are more vulnerable to a consolidation or profit taking should the Singapore equity market pulls back."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 21.94 points to 3,503.25 points. Trading volume was 2.6 billion shares worth 1.15 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 343 to 151, while 438 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Stratech Group jumped 25 percent to 2.5 Singapore cents. It has secured a contract for the intelligent Airfield runway surveillance and foreign object and debris (FOD) detection system at Singapore Changi Airport to be upgraded. Approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Stratech's intelligent vision-based airfield surveillance and FOD detection system is the world's first system of the kind providing real-time, automated FOD detection, location, classification, measurement and recording. It can be deployed in civil airports as well as military air bases to help prevent potential aircraft damage and fatalities caused by FOD.

Japfa Limited fell 5 percent to 47.5 Singapore cents. Its 57.5 percent owned subsidiary PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Tbk will register a net loss for first quarter this year. This, in turn, is expected to have a substantial adverse impact on the Japfa's consolidated financial results for the same quarter. The quarterly loss in the subsidiary is mainly due to the continuing weakness in the poultry market and in the purchasing power of low income consumers in Indonesia, and the translation loss from U.S. dollar loans as a result of the 5 percent drop in the Rupiah to U.S. dollar exchange rate.

Among top gainers, Singapore Airlines rose 0.5 percent to 12 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 1.9 percent to 41.69 U.S. dollars. (1 U. S. dollar equals to 1.35 Singapore dollars) Endi