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Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.4 pct

Xinhua, June 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.4 percent lower on Monday, tracking U.S. stocks which saw a modest decline last Friday after a solid jobs report sparked fear of a near-term interest-rate rise from the U.S. central bank.

The U.S. Labor Department reported May non-farm payrolls came in at 280,000, which was better than market's average forecast of 225,000. This led the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve to say it is likely that conditions will be appropriate to begin monetary policy normalization later this year.

DBS Group Research said, "External uncertainties such as shifts in expectations to start of the U.S. rate hike cycle, concerns about Greece's ability to repay 1.6 billion euros by month's end .. . can result in market choppiness in the near-term."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 13.34 points to 3,320.33 points. Trading volume was 1.42 billion shares worth 1.01 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 297 to 139, while 518 stocks did not move.

M1 Limited rose 2.1 percent to 3.33 Singapore dollars. The Singapore public transport operator, SMRT Corporation, said it will not proceed with a proposed investment in OMGTEL, a firm bidding for a telecommunications license in Singapore.

The city state is likely to auction bandwidth spectrum later this year and two firms have announced that they will bid to become the fourth operator. A new competitor in the small local market will hurt M1 since its business is concentrated in Singapore.

Spackman Entertainment Group Limited fell 0.8 percent to 11.8 Singapore cents. It announced that its associate company has acquired a 88.9 percent stake in Delmedia Co Limited for cash of 1. 48 million U.S. dollars.

Delmedia, one of South Korea's leading producers of variety shows, has produced more than 120 variety shows, entertainment dramas and reality shows to date. Delmedia is currently collaborating with several major Chinese broadcasting networks to produce Chinese variety shows. Two of these are expected to be released later this year.

Among top gainers, City Development Limited rose 1.3 percent to 9.90 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 2 percent to 36.60 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals 0.898 euros and 1.36 Singapore dollars) Endi