Morning Highlights

The STI gapped down 25.42 points to open at 2907.97 this morning. Do not panic, as it could be due to end month future settlement. We will need to observe further on market movement. On the other hand, Japanese shares drove higher, with strength in auto makers overcoming weakness in financials.

  • Hong Kong Land broke high of  5 (New trade opportunity, to BUY at 5.08, Stop Loss at 5.01, Target Profit Level at 5.15) – Triggered, Current Price at  5.07
  • Singapore’s electricity demand growth sank to a record low of 0.4% last year, from the usual 3-4 % as the recession ate into the economy.

 Corporate Announcements:

  1. Noble Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Noble Hammadde Ticaret, a grain and oilseeds business operating in Turkey has secured a US$30 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support the company’s further development.
  2. DBS Bank said today that in line with its recently unveiled strategy to pursue growth in India, it has reached an agreement with the Murugappa Group for the latter to buy over its 37.5% stake in Cholamandalam DBS Finance.

 News Updates:

  1. U.S. stocks close higher; fourth straight blue-chip gain carries Dow to 18-month high.
  2. Case – Shiller index shows 0.4% January dip in U.S. home prices.
  3. Verizon shares gain at opening bell on speculation over CDMA-compatible iPhone.
  4. An Australian subsidiary of Chi-X Global has been given in-principle approval to open a second stock exchange in Australia and break a monopoly that has existed since 1987, a minister said on Wednesday.

Quick Picks: Here is a quick pick screen that we have designed to pick out potential stocks, both Bullish and Bearish. These are measured with emphasis on larger changes in price and volume.

Bullish Stocks (Singapore)

Symbol

Name

Entry

SL

TSL

TP

Remarks
1 DBSM DBS Group Holdings 14.76 14.34 15.18
2 PARM Parkway Holdings 3.48 3.34 3.62  
3 GUOC Goucoland 2.48 2.35 2.61  
4 SOIL Soilbuild Group Holdings 1.53 1.44 1.62  
5 China Aviation Oil 1.41 1.32 1.50 Cancelled

Stock Prices last updated at 17.05 (Singapore Time)

Afternoon Highlights

Market retreated after lunch…

  • Mapletree Logistics broke high of 0.87

 News Updates:

  1. Nera Telecommunications Ltd said on Wednesday that the telecom-related company has won two orders worth S$21.6 million.
  2. Japan Land said it expects to report a net loss for the nine months ended Feb 28 and for the full year ending May 31. It is due to release its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended Feb 28 by April 14.
  3. ST Engineering announced that its aerospace arm, ST Aerospace, has been awarded US$750 million (S$1 billion) contract by Jet Airways (India) Ltd.
  4. CapitaMall Trust (CMT) will issue US$500 million fixed rate notes under its US$2.0 billion euro-medium term note (EMTN) programme set up on Monday. The notes will bear a fixed interest rate of 4.321% per annum payable semi-annually. The first issue under the EMTN programme  will mature on April 8, 2015. CMT trustee, CMT MTN, will swap the US dollar proceeds into S$699.5 million at a fixed interest rate of 3.794% per annum.

In Summary,

Singapore shares closed lower today. The STI dropped 45.93 points to 2887.46, with 1.6465 billion traded.  Losers led Gainers 377 to 142.

Selling pressure has accelerated during the last hour of trading. Market is likely to go sideways for the time being.

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