SINGAPORE share prices opened lower on Wednesday with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 1.44 points to 3,420.67 at 9.06am, taking cues from slips in European and US equity markets.
Top gainers in early trading include DBS and ComfortDelgro. DBS is set to gain the most among its peers from higher interest rates, given its strong deposit base and that most of its home loans are pegged to a floating rate. ComfortDelgro is also expected to see an earnings boost from bus reforms next year, said a Deutsche Bank report this week.
Some 33.5 million shares worth S$59.4 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 81 to 72.
POSSIBLY in response to Wall Street's Monday jump that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to all-time highs, the Straits Times Index rose 18.22 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,422.11 on Tuesday to go with Monday's 1.03 points rise. This brings its two-day gain to 19 points after falling 38 points on Thursday and Friday last week.
However, despite the index's gain, the broad market was weak for most of the day, with falls outnumbering rises. At 5pm, the advance-decline ratio was 195-238 and turnover at 1.3 billion units worth S$1.2 billion was in line with recent averages.
Jardine and bank stock were the primary index drivers, although Noble Group's S$0.065 or 7 per cent rebound to S$1.01 contributed about four points. The stock had been under intense pressure over the past fortnight following a short selling attack by a firm known only as Iceberg Research.
INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY NEWS :
Gold prices held steady to lower in early Asia on Tuesday as investors eyed easy monetary policy in China and continued import restriction in India On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell 0.02% to $1,206.40 a troy ounce. Overnight, gold prices slipped on Monday afternoon, after reaching a two-week high, amid conflicting reports about demand from the world’s two largest purchasers of the precious metal. Gold initially rose in morning trading following the release of a spate of economic data in China. For the month of February, the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7 — up a point from 49.7 in January. China also cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time in less than four months, as a number of economists expect more easing measures to follow throughout the remainder of the year.
TRADING STRATEGY :
BUY GOLD ABOVE 1212 TARGET 1217 1223 SL 1206
SELL GOLD BELOW 1203 TARGET 1197 1191 SL 1209
