Macroeconomic factors of STI March 3rd week

Macroeconomic factors:

 

• Oil touched its lowest level since 2009, dragging Asian energy shares down amid increased projections for US production. The dollar weakened from its strongest in more than a decade to major peers ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting.
• Singapore's anti-trust regulator blocked a takeover for the first time when it provisionally ruled last week that Malaysian IHH Healthcare Bhd's planned purchase of a local unit of India's Fortis Healthcare would lessen competition.
• SGX on  issued a trade with caution regarding Civmec Limited, an investment holding company that provides heavy engineering and construction services to resources and infrastructure sectors in Australia.
• Bank of Singapore said that rate hike by the Fed in September now looks more probable, with the US central bank pushing back expectations for the path of rate increases over the coming couple of years.
• Blumont Group is planning a rights cum warrants issue to raise about $27 million in net proceeds if the rights shares are fully subscribed.
• Oil resumed its slump after rallying from the lowest price in six years as focus returned to record supply in the US, the world's biggest consumer.
• Gold rose to its highest in nearly two weeks on after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of interest rate hike and gave a cautious outlook for the U.S. economy.
• The Federal Reserve opened the door to the first interest-rate increase in almost a decade, while also indicating it will go slowly once it gets started.
• Singapore-listed Noble Group's 30 per cent share-slump over the past month has thrust it on to the radar screens of Asian companies that want a bigger clout in global commodities trading.
• BLACKROCK Inc, an associate of Keppel Corp, made a series of dealings on Keppel Land shares on Thursday.It purchased 7,000 shares at S$4.55 apiece and sold a total of 48,100 shares at prices ranging from S$4.53 to S$4.55 per share.
• Singapore's financial regulator will work with commodity exchanges, investors and producers to support the development of the city-state as a trading center, including the expansion of clearing houses in Asia.

Weekly wrap of STI March 3rd Week

Starting of the week was sideway stocks defied the odds, trading higher even as most Asian stocks dropped, following declines in US shares, as materials and technology companies led losses and Markets waiting for the US Federal Reserve's policy statement due later in the session for clues to when the Fed will hike interest rates. Federal Reserve said data suggest economic growth has moderated and officials indicated interest rates will rise at a slower pace than previously estimated.

Singapore News Highlights for Thrusday

Singapore News

• SINGAPORE share prices opened higher with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 14.97 points to 3,376.72  as the US Federal Reserve raised the odds of a rate hike in June.
  
  
• Bank of Singapore said that rate hike by the Fed in September now looks more probable, with the US central bank pushing back expectations for the path of rate increases over the coming couple of years.
  
  
• Blumont Group is planning a rights cum warrants issue to raise about $27 million in net proceeds if the rights shares are fully subscribed.
  
  
• Oil resumed its slump after rallying from the lowest price in six years as focus returned to record supply in the US, the world's biggest consumer.
  
  
• SINGPOST is set to roll out an e-commerce fulfilment solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in April.

Stocks to watch: Oil, Noble, Xpress

Singapore stock news[SGX]- OIL tumbled for a seventh day, extending declines from a six-year low, before US government data forecast to show crude stockpiles rose to a record in the world's biggest consumer.

Futures dropped as much as 2.4 per cent in New York. Crude inventories probably expanded by 4.4 million barrels through March 13 to 453.3 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Industry data showed supplies increased by 10.5 million barrels last week.

US crude stockpiles have continued to climb, even as companies idle drill rigs to the fewest since 2011, bolstering speculation a global glut that drove prices almost 50 per cent lower last year will persist. Options traders have become the most bearish in at least five years amid signs rising supply may strain the nation's storage capacity.

Noble Group, Asia's biggest commodities house, faces record bond maturities and closer scrutiny of earnings amid a global resources rout and is being punished by traders.

US dollar-denominated notes of the company, which has the lowest investment-grade scores from the three main rating companies, yield more than 400 basis points above Treasuries, compared with the 317 average for top junk-rated Asian borrowers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show.

The cost to protect the company's notes against non-payment has risen 144 basis points in the last month to 412, the worst-performing in Asia and 55 above junk-rated Australian firm Fairfax Media Ltd.

Noble had denied allegations from an anonymous group called Iceberg Research that it overstated accounting gains, and rejected a demand for unpaid compensation in a lawsuit from its former chief executive.

Mainboard-listed Xpress Holdings has reported a 51.6 per cent drop in its second-quarter net profit to S$214,000, from S$438,000 a year earlier, on the back of a 14.1 per cent drop in revenue to S$4.1 million for the quarter ended Jan 31, 2015, from a year ago.

Xpress's results report also highlighted the group's cash-flow problems - the group's working capital position was negative as at Jan 31, 2015, and the net drop in cash and cash equivalents for Q2 was S$57,000, compared to a net gain of S$5.3 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The group had a cash and cash equivalent deficit of S$1.34 million for H1 2015.

Its counter closed down S$0.001 to S$0.012 on Tuesday.

Singapore STI opens lower on back of oil glut, Fed statement expectations

Singapore stock picks[SGX]- THE Straits Times Index (STI) opened lower at 3,361, down 8.95 points or 0.27 per cent, on Wednesday, weighed down by cautious sentiments as commodity prices fall and nervousness increased ahead of a Federal Reserve policy statement.

Oil extended losses from a six-year low with the US government data projected to show crude stockpiles had risen to a fresh record.

Analysts are saying US oil is on the cusp of a bear market, with many predicting supplies already at their highest level in more than 30 years rose by another 4.4 million barrels.

The Fed may cut a reference to being "patient" on rate rises in its policy statement, Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas SA have said, according to Bloomberg.

Closer to home, unemployment in South Korea has hit a 12-month high, while a jump in exports helped to trim Japan's trade deficit in February to its slimmest in nearly two years.

At Singapore Exchange on Wednesday, some 59.6 million shares changed hands as at 9.03am. Losers beat gainers 66 to 54.

Top gainers at the market's opening included Singapore Airlines, DBS and Wing Tai.

Meanwhile, shares of Noble Group were among the top losers, opening down 2.22 per cent or two Singapore cents to S$0.88 in early-morning trading.

Singapore News Highlights for Tuesday-

 

Singapore Stock Picks(SGX)

• Singapore share prices opened higher with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 16.70 points to 3,392.74 
  
• Myanmar property play Yoma Strategic Holdings announced some changes to key management.Group general manager Jeremy Noel Westmore & Co-head Elmar Heinrich  resigned to pursue personal interests.
  
• Shares of Sinarmas Land surged 5 per cent in early-morning trading, even as Singapore Exchange assigned a "trade with caution" on the stock.
  
• SINGAPORE'S non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by a sharp 9.7 per cent year on year in February, following three straight months of increase.
  

• NOBLE Group on Tuesday said it has repurchased US$15 million in dollar-denominated 10-year senior notes due 2020 that offered a 6.625 per cent coupon.
  
• IREIT Global hopes to double its asset size and net lettable area in the next 12 to 18 months,It adopts an "ABBA" investment strategy, investing in "A" assets in "B" (second-tier) cities and "B" assets in "A" (first-tier) cities.
  
• US stocks opened higher on Monday after a 3-week losing skid for the S&P 500, as a recovery in the euro helped reassure US investors who had been concerned about the impact of a robust dollar on the earnings of multinational companies.

Stocks to watch: Vard, Singapore Press Holdings

SHIPBUILDER Vard Holdings said on Saturday two affiliates of a customer, E.R. Offshore, have filed for insolvency at a local court in Germany.Consequently, it has terminated two shipbuilding contracts for one platform supply vessel per affiliate, the company said.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has invested S$2 million in a data analysis firm for a 20 per cent stake. DC Frontiers owns and operates the Handshakes app, which applies social network analysis to capital markets. SPH publishes The Business Times.

Singapore STI opens lower on Friday

SINGAPORE[SGX] share prices opened lower on Monday with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.75 points to 3,362.02 as at 9.04am, tracing losses in the US markets.

Top gainers in early trading included UOB, while top losers included its peers DBS and OCBC.

Banks have underperformed since the start of the year due to profit-taking and concerns about an economic slowdown and higher credit costs, noted a Nomura report dated March 12.

"We believe that while some of these concerns are warranted, the market has ignored the very positive impact of rising short-term interest rates. In our opinion, this is the single most important catalyst for these banks at this stage of the cycle, as it offers them significant operating leverage," the brokerage said.

Some 61.8 million shares worth S$92.6 million changed hands as at 9.04am on Monday, with losers outnumbering gainers 91 to 57.