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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.99 pct

Xinhua, August 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.99 percent higher on Thursday, boosted by a late recovery on Wall Street and reassurances from China's central bank that there was no basis for further yuan depreciation.

The People's Bank of China said there was no basis for more yuan depreciation in light of strong economic fundamentals, even though the yuan dropped for the third straight day following Beijing's move to devalue the currency on Tuesday. Still, investors remained cautious about how low the yuan might go.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 30.29 points to 3,091.78 points. Trading volume was 1.44 billion shares worth 1.38 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 256 to 190, while 489 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Noble Group fell 1 percent to 50 Singapore cents. The rating agency Moody's Investors Service lowered Noble's outlook on the company to "negative" from "stable." Moody's joins Standard & Poor's in lowering its outlook, although both have kept their ratings stable. Moody's said "Noble's ratings outlook was changed to negative, because first-half results indicated higher leverage and lower interest coverage, with a weaker liquidity profile that is less supportive of its current Baa3 issuer rating. "

Q&M Dental Group (Singapore) Limited rose 3.4 percent to 75.5 Singapore cents. It reported its second-quarter revenue was up 50. 6 percent year-on-year to 30.5 million Singapore dollars while net profit soared 212 percent to 3.7 million Singapore dollars. The results were attributed to contributions from its acquisitions in China and Singapore. These results also affirm the impact of Q&M Dental's acquisition strategy. This is especially so in China which showed growth despite a slowdown in the economy in China.

Among top gainers, DBS Group rose 2 percent to 19.02 Singapore dollars, while Dairy Farm International became one of the top losers by falling 1.9 percent to 7.39 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.40 Singapore dollars) Endi