singapore stocks end the week on a positive note 1165152015

Singapore stocks were up marginally Friday, taking cheer from the solid gains on Wall Street over the past two sessions.

M&A activity helped boost stocks, particularly Olam International Ltd (SGX:O32), which jumped 8.377 per cent to SG$2.070 on the news of Mitsubishi’s acquisition of a stake in the company.

Indices and sectors

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 10.51 points or 0.36 per cent higher at 2,955.94, taking the year-to-date performance to -12.16 per cent.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.89 per cent, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.81 per cent.

The Singapore Exchange traded a volume of 1,976.9 million shares valued at SG$1,442.1 million. Gainers outnumbered losers by 277/189.

Amongst the FTSE ST sectors, the top gainers included industrials (+2.44 per cent), oil and gas (+1.63 per cent), consumer goods (+1.24 per cent), technology (+1.09 per cent), real estate investment trusts (+1.07 per cent) and China (+0.97 per cent). Utilities (-1.35 per cent) and telecommunications (-1.16 per cent) were the only two losing sectors.

Stocks

IHH Healthcare Bhd (SGX:Q0F) has agreed to acquire a 73.4 per cent stake in Indian hospital chain Ravindranath GE Medical Associates Private Ltd, also known as Global Hospitals, for 12.84 billion Indian rupees (SG$273 million). The Indian group owns five hospitals with around 1,100 operational beds in four major Indian cities, according to Channel News Asia. Dr Tan See Leng, managing director and CEO of IHH, said: “This will be a game-changer for IHH in India. Together with our existing hospitals, the acquisition of Global Hospitals catapults us towards becoming one of the leading hospital groups in India."

Luxury yacht maker Grand Banks Yachts Ltd (SGX:G50) said it suffered a net loss of SG$2.44 million during the fourth quarter ended June 30 compared to a net profit of SG$801,000 in the prior year period. Revenues jumped 3.5 per cent to SG$13.68 million. The company said its performance was affected by its ongoing reorganisation efforts, but disclosed that its order book for FY2015 had jumped to a six-year high of SG$36.5 million.

Epicentre Holdings Limited (SGX:5MQ), a retailer of Apple branded products, said it suffered a net loss of SG$2.868 million during the year ended June 30, 2015, a shade lower than the net loss of SG$2.895 million in the previous year. Sales were up 3.6 per cent to SG$178.5 million, led by the launch of the iPhone 6 in the first half of 2015. "The group maintained its sales growth although partially offset by the increase in price competition, closure of retail stores, downtime due to renovation of stores and generally poor retail sentiments," Epicentre said, according to the Business Times.

China Everbright Water Ltd (SGX:U9E) announced over the weekend that the company and its fully-owned subsidiary, Beijing Everbright Water Investment Management Co (BEWI), entered into an equity transfer agreement with the sellers – Dongda Group Co and Liu Yubao – to acquire the entire equity interest in Dalian Dongda Water Co and its subsidiaries. Once complete, the acquisition will boost the company’s contractual daily wastewater treatment capacity to beyond 4.6 million tonnes a day, taking it further towards its goal of becoming one of the leading water companies in China, the Business Times said.

Building maintenance and estate upgrading services provider Isoteam Ltd (SGX:5WF) said net profit for the year ended June 30 surged 34.1 per cent to SG$8.1 billion led by higher sales and gross profit margins, according to the Business Times.

Economic news

Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) estimates, which are compiled by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies, showed that resale prices of private homes in Singapore remained basically unchanged last month, reported Channel News Asia.

At last week's global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, central bankers from across the world have made it clear to their US counterparts that global financial markets were prepared for the US rate hike and the Federal Reserve should implement the action at the earliest, according to Channel News Asia.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang said Saturday that the country’s economy “is operating within an appropriate range and China continues to lead the world in terms of growth,” in an apparent bid to reassure global markets that were thrown into unprecedented turmoil on concerns over a slowdown in the Chinese economy, according to a report in Channel News Asia.

On Saturday, China scrapped a two decade limit on bank lending that stipulated that no more than 75 per cent of banks deposits could be offered as loans. With effect from October 1, the law has been amended to remove this 75 per cent loan-to-deposit, according to Channel News Asia.

On Wall Street Friday, US stocks ended on a somewhat muted note as selling abated, but investors still worried about the Fed’s intentions regarding an interest-rate hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 11.76 points (0.07 per cent) at 16,643.01. The broad-based S&P 500 added 1.21 (0.06 per cent) at 1,988.87, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 15.62 (0.32 per cent) at 4,828.32.