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Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.36 pct

Xinhua, July 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.36 percent lower on Wednesday, dragged down by weak results from IBM, Apple that took a toll on U.S. shares overnight.

U.S. markets fell on weak earnings from heavyweight companies. Sales for IBM fell for a 13th quarter while United Technologies shares lost 7 percent after cutting its 2015 profit forecast. Microsoft Corporation fell following its largest-ever quarterly net loss. Apple's share price was also weak after iPhone shipments missed forecasts.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 12.24 points to close at 3,359.17 points. Trading volume was 2.79 billion shares worth 952 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 262 to 191, while 499 stocks closed unchanged.

Among top actives, Stratech Group jumped 7.1 percent to 4.5 Singapore cents. It has secured a key contract for its flagship iFerret intelligent Vision system, which will pave the way for it to advance further into the U.S. commercial airfield surveillance market.

The contract was jointly won with Stratech's U.S. partner, Organizational Strategies, Incorporated (OSI). OSI is a U.S. Federally qualified small business that has been working in aviation engineering for over a decade.

Stratech expects the latest contract to contribute positively to its earnings for the current financial year ending March 31, 2016.

Keppel Corporation Limited dropped 0.5 percent to 8.14 Singapore dollars. It announced that it has secured a third liquefaction facility conversion contract worth 684 million U.S. dollars from a subsidiary of Golar LNG Limited.

The work is to convert a Moss type LNG carrier into a Golar Floating Liquefaction facility. This is the exercise of the second of two options in a previous contract awarded by Golar to Keppel. The first option was exercised in December last year for a similar conversion.

Among the top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 1 percent to 56.42 U.S. dollars, while Singapore Airlines dropped 3.2 percent to 11. 33 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars) Endi