Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.46 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.46 percent lower on Friday, after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said Thursday that she anticipated raising interest rates by the end of the year.

U.S. stocks fell but pared losses ahead of the speech by Janet Yellen in Amherst, Massachusetts on the direction of interest rates. In the speech that was delivered after the stock market closed, she said unless there is a negative surprise in the economy, she still expected rates to head higher this year.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 13.1 points to 2, 832.64 points. Trading volume was 1.37 billion shares worth 1.19 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 207 to 189, while 539 stocks did not move.

SMRT Corporation fell 1.2 percent to 1.28 Singapore dollars. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has fined SMRT 5.4 million Singapore dollars for the massive breakdown of its North-South and East-West lines on July 7. This is the largest penalty so far. The LTA concluded that the disruption, which affected 413,000 commuters, was the result of maintenance lapses by the firm, and that SMRT was "fully responsible" for the incident.

Civmec Limited closed flat at 40 Singapore cents. It announced that its joint venture with Sedgman Limited has been awarded a contract by BHP Billiton Iron Ore for civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and commissioning works at the Jimblebar mine in Western Australia. It also included the installation of a new primary crusher and additional conveying capacity. The contract value was not disclosed.

Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 2 percent to 48.26 U.S. dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 2.2 percent to 27.96 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.42 Singapore dollars) Endi