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Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 1.32 pct

Xinhua, September 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 1.32 percent lower on Tuesday, as investors turned cautious following the release of China's purchasing managers' index.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index for August came in at 49.7, below last month's reading of 50.0. A number below 50.0 implies a contraction of the industry. The Caixin China manufacturing and services PMIs for August also declined, with the final manufacturing print for August ahead of an earlier preliminary reading at 47.3, but still down from 47.8 in July. Meanwhile, the services measure falls to 51.5 in August from 53.8 a month earlier.

DBS Group Research said "we now expect (Singapore company) earnings to decline by 1 percent this year. Our base case is for the Straits Times Index to trade within the 2,750 points to 3,050 points range."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 38.67 points to 2,882.77 points. Trading volume was 1.8 billion shares worth 1.11 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 300 to 131, while 511 stocks did not move.

SembCorp Marine closed flat at 2.39 Singapore dollars. The rig builder announced that its unit has secured engineering, procurement and construction contract worth over 1 billion U.S. dollars from Maersk Oil North Sea UK Limited to build three topsides for the Culzean field development in the North Sea. However, the latest contract will not have material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of SembCorp Marine.

Chasen Holdings closed flat at 6 Singapore cents. It had secured contracts worth 44.5 million Singapore dollars for this financial year. New contract wins include relocation and move-in services for manufacturing plants in China worth approximately 20 million Singapore dollars, underlying the Group's strong and growing presence in the country. Other contracts secured are from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Among the top gainers, Venture Corporation rose 0.6 percent to 8.06 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 0.5 percent to 49.68 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.41 Singapore dollars) Endi