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Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 1.29 pct

Xinhua, May 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 1.29 percent higher on Monday amid higher oil prices, but many investors were cautious after a disappointing U.S. jobs report.

The U.S. non-farm payrolls increased by 160,000 in April, which was the smallest gain since September last year and below the 200,000 economists had expected. The weak U.S. jobs report fueled speculations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would hike interest rates at a very slow pace.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude was above 45 U.S. dollars a barrel again and Brent crude rose to around 46 U.S. dollars a barrel as a wildfire raged through Canada's oil sands region, shutting half of the country's vast oil sands capacity.

DBS Group Research said "in the near-term, we believe that the correction will end soon. Current Straits Times Index price-earning valuation looks to have priced in the first-quarter earnings cut while technical indicators have fallen to oversold levels. Further downside in the short-term should be limited at 2,685 points and 2,715 points."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 35.26 points to 2,766.06 points. Trading volume was 1.05 billion shares worth 931 million Singapore dollars. But decliners outnumbered advancers 222 to 159, while 535 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Vallianz Holdings jumped 7.3 percent to 4.4 Singapore cents. It has been awarded a time charter contract valued at up to 63 million U.S. dollars for the supply of two offshore support vessels to a national oil company in the Middle East.

Vallianz will supply two Anchor Handling Tug, Supply and Safety Standby (AHTSS) vessels to the NOC for a period of up to 7 years. The first AHTSS vessel is expected to be deployed to the national oil company's oil fields in the Arabian Gulf during the third quarter of 2016 while the second vessel is scheduled for deployment in the first quarter of 2017.

Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 1.5 percent to 55.58 U.S. dollars, while Noble Group became one of the top losers by sinking 13.6 percent to 35 Singapore cents. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars) Endit