SGX Stock Recommendations

MARKET UPDATES :

• The Straits Times Index (STI) ended -14.65 points lower or -0.43% to 3426.18, taking the year-to-date performance to +1.81%.

• The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined -0.31% while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined -0.29%. The top active stocks were Sing- Tel (-0.47%), DBS (-0.66%), Global Logistic (+1.17%), UOB (-0.26%) and OCBC Bank (-0.38%).

• The outperforming sectors today were represented by the FTSE ST Consumer Goods Index (+0.77%). The two biggest stocks of the FTSE ST Consumer Goods Index are Wilmar International (+1.85%) and Thai Beverage (+0.71%). The underperforming sector was the FTSE ST Basic Materials Index, which declined -1.28% with Midas Holdings’s share price declining -3.08% and Geo Energy Re- sources’s share price unchanged.

• The three most active Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) by value today were the IS MSCI India (-0.12%), STI ETF (-0.87%), SPDR Gold Shares (+0.50%).

• The three most active Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) by value were CapitaMall Trust (unchanged), Ascendas REIT (-1.59%), Suntec REIT (-0.51%).

• The most active index warrants by value today were HSI25000MBeCW150330 (+5.50%), HSI25000MBeCW150429 (+7.38%), HSI24400MBePW150330 (-10.11%).

• The most active stock warrants by value today were OCBC Bk MBeCW150803 (-5.74%), SGX MB eCW150803 (-1.16%), DBS MB eCW150915 (-5.33%).

Forex Market Update

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose to its highest level since 2003 Thursday, as currency traders bet that a stronger-than-expected core consumer-price index number will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The index DXY, -0.13% a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, rose 1.15% to 95.1500, according to FactSet data.

The euro EURUSD, +0.13%  traded at $1.1998, its lowest level since Jan. 26, compared with $1.1361 Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the dollar rose to 119.46 yen USDJPY, -0.22% compared with ¥118.87 Wednesday. The pound GBPUSD, +0.21%  fell to $1.5405, compared with $1.5521.

S&P Market News Update

Small-cap companies outperformed large firms Thursday, as downbeat economic reports and selling pressure from the energy sector weighed on the benchmark S&P 500.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.15%  closed down 3.12 points, or 0.2% lower, at 2,110.74, while six of its 10 main sectors finished with losses. A 5.5% drop in oil prices prompted investors to dump energy companies.