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Singapore stocks end down 0.61 pct

Xinhua, June 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.61 percent lower on Tuesday, as investors stay cautious ahead of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting starting later in the day.

Markets in general expect the U.S. central bank to leave rates unchanged after the much weaker-than-expected May nonfarm payrolls report. Meanwhile, concerns on referendum in Britain that could see it exiting the European Union also continued to keep investors at bay.

According to two opinion polls published on Monday, British voters appear still divided ahead of the June 23 referendum, with the "Out" campaign widening its lead over the "In" camp.

Investors were also waiting for the announcement from MSCI to reveals its call on Chinese stocks later Wednesday. Most fund managers and investors now forecast MSCI to announce an inclusion of Chinese stocks into its emerging market index because China's government has rolled out a lot of improvements, including new rules on trading suspensions.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 17.10 points to 2,768.33 points. Trading volume was 949 million shares worth 815 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 224 to 138, while 542 stocks did not move.

Changjiang Fertilizer Holdings halted trading on Tuesday. The cash holding company announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with CTE Resources to acquire a 50 percent stake in Chiu Teng 8 (CT8) for a total consideration of about 9.7 million Singapore dollars. If successfully completed, the acquisition will constitute a reverse takeover (RTO) of the company. To date, CT8 is a profitable company with a track record in real estate development.

Pacific Radiance closed flat at 29 Singapore cents. Its subsidiary Pacific Crest has issued two notices for arbitration in Hong Kong against two Chinese shipbuilders.

This comes after two contracts with the shipyards, both dated May 2013, were canceled for the failure of the shipyards to deliver two platform supply vessels in accordance to their obligations. Pacific Crest is claiming the refund of the pre-delivery installments paid to the shipyards of 10.6 million U.S. dollars plus interest.

Among the top gainers, Venture Corporation rose 1.3 percent to 8.42 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 1.7 percent to 54.55 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.36 Singapore dollars) Endit