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1st Ld Writethru: Singapore stocks end down 1.26 pct

Xinhua, February 14, 2017 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 1.26 percent lower on Tuesday, dragged down by worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve will make more rate hikes this year.

All eyes are now on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony on policy to the Congress due later on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Investors worried that Yellen will outline the case for at least three rate rises this year, rather than the two expected so far by the markets. Investors will be particularly looking for any hints Yellen will give regarding a rate hike in March, something the market has also so far priced as a slim chance.

Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan argued overnight the U.S. central bank should hike rates soon to avoid falling behind the curve, especially as fiscal policy could drive faster growth and inflation.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 39.16 points to 3,072.47 points. Trading volume was 3.33 billion shares worth 1.47 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 310 to 176, while 598 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Noble Group jumped 11.7 percent to 22 Singapore cents. The commodities trader said it was holding talks on a possible strategic investment in the firm, but did not give details. Reuters exclusively reported China's state-owned Sinochem is in early talks with Noble to buy an equity stake, a move that would help it gain access to Noble's global supply chain.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dropped 3.3 percent to 9.43 Singapore dollars. It reported its net profit fell 18 percent to 789 million Singapore dollars for the fourth-quarter ended December from a year ago.

This brings full-year earnings to 3.47 billion Singapore dollars, 11 percent lower than the previous year. In the quarter, the banking group recorded a 7 percent fall in net interest income to 1.25 billion Singapore dollars, mainly due to lower net interest margin from the continued compression in customer loan yields.

Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 0.3 percent to 64.10 U.S. dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 1 percent to 42.13 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.42 Singapore dollars) Endit