Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 1.7 pct
Xinhua, February 11, 2016 Adjust font size:
Singapore shares closed 1.7 percent lower on Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that financial turbulence could delay the pace of rate hikes but not halt or reverse it.
Financial conditions have become less supportive of growth and further rate hikes will be gradual, Yellen said before the House Financial Services Committee.
U.S. equity indices gave up earlier session gains to end mixed following her comment.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 43.82 points to 2,538.28 points. Trading volume was 817 million shares worth 1.05 billion Singapore dollars.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 264 to 119, while 540 stocks did not move. Del Monte Pacific dropped 3.1 percent to 31.5 Singapore cents.
The canned fruit producer said it plans to sell 360 million U.S. dollar in U.S. dollar-denominated perpetual preferred shares early this year.
BDO Capital is issue manager, lead underwriter and book-runner for the domestic offering. Proceeds will refinance a 350 million U.S. dollar bridge loan from BDO.
If the perpetual preferred shares are not called on the fifth anniversary, the distribution will step up by 250 basis points.
Biosensors International Group rose 3.2 percent to 80.5 Singapore cents. The private equity arm of Citic Group Corporation extended its proposed takeover of Biosensors to April 10 to get shareholder approval.
Citic is offering to buy up all of the shares of the heart device maker that it does not own. Biosensors said on Wednesday that it had been informed by regulators that it will have to obtain at least 75 percent shareholders' approval for a delisting resolution and at least 75 percent of independent shareholders' approval for the transactions proposed by Citic.
Among the top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 0.5 percent to 38.17 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Strategic became one of the top losers by falling 2.2 percent to 27.70 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.41 Singapore dollars) Enditem