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Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.48 pct on Friday

Xinhua, May 12, 2017 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.48 percent lower on Friday, after U.S. stocks fell on Thursday amid political uncertainty in Washington.

Wall Street was also dragged by drops in share prices of several large department stores which reported worse-than-expected sales declines.

The political drama in Washington continued as U.S. President Donald Trump called ousted Federal Bureau Investigation(FBI) chief James Comey a "showboat" and a "grandstander." But his attack was swiftly met with resistance from acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who pledged that an investigation into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia would proceed.

Maybank Kim Eng Research said "the Straits Times Index has rallied 4.6 percent almost uninterruptedly over the past three weeks and a pause is overdue. Immediate resistance for the index is at 3,290 points with underlying support at 3,212 points."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 15.82 points to 3,255.29 points. Trading volume was 2.18 billion shares worth 1.44 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 307 to 168.

OCBC Bank fell 0.1 percent to 10.55 Singapore dollars. It announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire National Australia Bank (NAB)'s Private Wealth business in Singapore and Hong Kong.

As at end February 2017, the business comprises a mortgage portfolio amounting to about 2.39 billion Singapore dollars worth of mainly residential mortgage loans, and a deposit portfolio made up of about 4.28 billion Singapore dollars worth of deposits of a mix of currencies.

The business serves a total of about 11,000 customers across the two markets, primarily from the affluent segment. The purchase consideration will be at around the book value, or net asset value, of the business at the date of completion.

Wilmar International jumped 9.6 percent to 3.76 Singapore dollars. It reported first-quarter core net profit jumped 40.5 percent to 312.6 million U.S. dollars on improved performance across most key segments except sugar. Its quarterly revenue also grew 17.4 percent to 10.6 billion U.S. dollars from higher commodity prices and stronger volumes by its tropical oils and sugar businesses.

Among top gainers, Jardine Strategic rose 0.5 percent to 42.38 U.S. dollars, whereas Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 0.9 percent to 46.49 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.41 Singapore dollars) Endit