Singapore Stock Market Updates On 03/05/10

Morning Highlights

Selective Blue Chips To Lookout For…

Singapore market kicked off the week on a negative note with the STI down 0.62% to open at 2956.17. Support is seen at 2932.04 and resistance at 3000.

• Lookout for selective blue chips: Genting Singapore, Hong Kong Land  and CapitaMall.
• Look out for Singapore’s April PMI figures on Tuesday 04/05/2010.
• China Min Zhong broke 1.23.

Watch out for U.S. economic data to be released today: March Personal Income and Spending, April’s ISM Manufacturing.

Corporate Announcements

1. IndoFoodAgri announced 35.5% growth year-on-year in 1Q10 net profit to Rp405 billion.
2. Swiber announced a notice of award from an oil and gas operator in South Asia worth approximately US$148 million. The offshore work will commence in 4Q10 and to be completed by 2Q11.
3. Cosco announced the delivery of two bulk carrier to its European customers. Meanwhile, an Asian shipowner rescheduled the delivery of one bulk carrier from Oct 2010 to Apr 2011.
4. Noble Group clarified that it has no renewed interest to restart discussions with Macarthur Coal, dispelling market rumours.

 News Updates:

1. U.S. economy expands 3.2% in first quarter, with consumers leading the way‏.
2. U.S. stock benchmarks end April in black; 2.6% Nasdaq rise leads pack‏
3. U.S. stocks fell, capping the biggest weekly drop since January, as criminal investigators took aim at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and technology shares slid as MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. posted a loss.
4. MEMC plunged 19% to $12.97 for the biggest decline in the S&P 500.
5. S&P analysts call Goldman Sachs shares a sell; stock decline steepens‏ and sank 9.4% to the lowest since July after criminal-probe report‏.
6. FDIC shuts down three Puerto Rico banks, holding almost $15 billion in total deposits‏
7. Continental, United boards reportedly approve $3.2 billion merger‏.
8. China’s April PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 55.7 from 55.1 in March, highlighting potential overheating risks in the world’s fastest growing economy.
9. South Korea April CPI up 2.6% yoy, above forecast; manufacturing growth rebounded in April adding to expectations of stronger inflationary pressure on a sustained recovery.
10. Australia inflation gauge rises 0.4% in April; manufacturing growth at 8 year high in April.
11. Greece sealed a deal with the European Union and IMF yesterday, amounting to 120 billion euro rescue package for Greece.

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)

Bearish Stocks (Singapore)

Stock Prices last updated at 17.05 (Singapore Time)

Afternoon Highlights

Market continued to trade lower and choppy. We advise to trade only very strong stocks during this period of time.

• China Min Zhong high volume traded so far, lookout for this recent IPO.

 News Updates:

1. Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s Big Four lenders, plans to file applications this week for its dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The planned IPO, the world’s biggest ever, could raise as much as US$30 billion… (Read Full)
2. India April factory PMI falls for 2nd month: survey
3. European Central Bank suspends minimum credit-rating threshold for Greek debt‏. China on Sunday raised the proportion of deposits that lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, another step in its months-old campaign to mop up excess cash in the economy at a time when inflation is on the rise

In Summary,

Index down 30.39 points to close at 2944.22 on light volume of 1.2979 billion traded. Once again, do note that support is seen at 2932.04. If market is able to trade up, the next support will be at 2942.27.

There are 2 Mega Listing coming up. One of it is the New Century Shipbuilding (see below.) Market watchers say price range of 98 cents to $1.19 per share, values the stock at between 8 & 10 times price to earnings ratio. Final price is probably on May 4th. The other is on pending.