Singapore shares open 19.88 points higher on Wednesday

SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Wednesday with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 19.88 points to 2,838.96 as at 9.00am. US stocks closed higher overnight, as the S&P 500 recorded a 2016 high on Tuesday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen called for caution on raising interest rates.

Top gainers in early morning trade included Jardine C&C and Great Eastern. Some 46.8 million shares worth S$49.1 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 102 to 25.

Singapore shares close lower as HK, China indices and Dow futures slide

AFTER a short-covering bounce on Thursday morning that gave a mistaken semblance of stability because it added 30 points to the Straits Times Index (STI), pressure returned in force during the afternoon session, leaving the STI 27.07 points worse off at 2,532.70 at 5pm.

Turnover remained elevated at 1.2 billion units worth S$1.4 billion and, excluding warrants, there were 127 rises versus 288 falls. Of the total volume traded, just over S$1 billion was generated by the 30 STI components.

Over in North Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index plunged 3.2 per cent, taking 1.8 per cent off the Hang Seng Index, while a weak session for the Dow futures indicated Wall Street would likely remain depressed on Thursday. At 5pm, the March contract was trading at a 120-point loss.

Brokers said the volatility spike of the past few weeks and the unpredictability of the China market was making it impossible to say when the selling might end.

Singapore shares close 0.3% lower on Monday

SINGAPORE share prices finished 0.26 per cent lower on Monday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling 7.29 points to 2,845.55 on lower trading volumes.

The blue-chip index was dragged down as Brent crude oil futures plummeted to as low as US$36.17 per barrel, their weakest level since 2004.

About 911.1 million shares worth S$626.1 million changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$0.69 per share.

The most actively traded stock was engineering company Terratech, which leapt 49 per cent or 1.9 Singapore cents to S$0.058 with 70.8 million shares changing hands. Other actives included Ezra Holdings, Rex International and QT Vascular.

Though the STI slipped, smaller counters seem to have fared a bit better. In the broad market, gainers outnumbered losers 205 to 171, or about six up for every five down.

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SingTel kept at 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs, target price of $4.07 unchanged

SINGAPORE (Nov 17): Goldman Sachs is keeping Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) at "neutral" with an unchanged target price of $4.07, as it reckons the telco player is "fully valued".

The recommendation comes as the telco's 2Q FY16 results were in line with estimates of Goldman Sachs.

SingTel reported an underlying net profit of $974 million and revenue of $4.18 billion.

Goldman Sachs says the telco's core operations were stable, with growth in mobile data services and higher revenue from digital services.

Singtel invests in new S$400m data centre in Jurong

SINGAPORE Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) is making its biggest data centre investment in Singapore to date, with a new S$400 million facility in Jurong.

The Tier 3-Plus data centre - with an approximate gross floor area of 570,000 square feet - will meet growing demand for co-location and cloud services in Singapore. It will be completed in the third quarter of 2016.

Singapore News Highlights for Thursday

• Singapore share prices opened stronger, with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 16.47 points or 0.56 per cent to 2,978.28, following gains on Wall Street.
• Asia followed Wall St gains, while brace for return of China markets.
• Chinese stocks jump at open, catching up after global market rebound.
• Noble Group's chief aluminium trader in Europe, Erik Gundersen, will be leaving the Asian commodities merchant.
• UOB record 42 per cent jump in revenue for the first half of this year from a year ago.
• Oxley Holdings clarified that the reported acquisitions in International Healthway Corp (IHC) by its chief executive Ching Chiat Kwong and deputy CEO Low See Ching are "personal and independent investment decisions". 
• Ascott triples units have been added in SEA.
• SingPost completed successfully test flight of drone for mail delivery.
• PEC warned of loss as S$19m is outstanding from Jurong Aromatics Corporation.
• Kwek/Quek family in Malaysia and Singapore is sixth-richest in Asia.
• Dollar little changed as compared to euro & yen.
• Oil fell down after rise in US inventories,& production.
• Gold climbed to one-week high on signs of slowing Global economic growth.