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Singapore stocks end down 1.34 pct

Xinhua, May 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 1.34 percent lower on Friday, as investors were cautious before a key U.S. jobs report.

The report will offer a glimpse of the health of the U.S. economy and is a key factor in swaying expectations for future interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Market in average estimated roughly 205,000 jobs were added in April.

Meanwhile, the volatile oil prices also kept investors on edge. Brent crude futures rallied overnight, breaching 46 U.S. dollars a barrel, but retreated in early Asia trading hours and last traded below 45 U.S. dollars a barrel.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 37.01 points to 2,730.80 points. Trading volume was 967 million shares worth 1.17 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 270 to 136, while 509 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Yuuzoo jumped 7.5 percent to 21.5 Singapore cents. The social networking, ecommerce, and gaming platform reported first-quarter earnings nearly trebled to 12.8 million Singapore dollars from 4.4 million dollars a year ago, on the back of higher sales. Its revenue for the quarter more than trebled to 45.5 million Singapore dollars from 13.3 million Singapore dollars in the same period last year, boosted by the acquisition of a 30 percent stake in Infocomm Asia Holdings.

StarHub rose 0.6 percent to 3.32 Singapore dollars. It reported a nearly 26 percent rise in first-quarter earnings to 92.8 million Singapore dollars, up from 73.7 million Singapore dollars a year ago. This came on the back of a 4.4 percent fall in revenue to 590 million Singapore dollars from 617.9 million Singapore dollars, primarily due to lower revenue from the sale of equipment. For 2016, StarHub said that it intends to maintain the annual cash dividend of 20 Singapore cents per share.

Among top gainers, Venture Corporation rose 2.1 percent to 8.15 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 1.7 percent to 54.75 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars) Enditem