Singapore shares end morning higher led by shipyards on bargain hunting

Singapore shares end morning higher led by shipyards on bargain hunting

	Published : Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:36 By : Agencies Print this Story

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Singapore shares were higher at the end of morning session Tuesday on bargain hunting with

shipyard stocks leading gainers on strong industry outlook.

But investors remained cautious, awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Sept 18. While most investors expect a rate cut, many are hoping for a reduction of as much as 50 basis points to help the US economy avoid a recession induced by housing and credit market weakness.

Fears of a recession resurfaced after the US Labor Department said Friday that non-farm payrolls dropped for the first time in four years in August.

At the midday break, the Straits Times Index was up 48.13 points, or 1.4 percent, at 3,490.00.

Gainers led losers 484 to 170, with 227 shares unchanged.

There were 1.65 billion shares traded worth 1.18 billion Singapore dollars.

Buying was selective, with investors focused on growth stocks, particularly shipyards.

Among them, Cosco Singapore was up 15 cents at 5.40 dollars and Labroy Marine added 8 cents at 2.26 dollars. Keppel Corp edged up 10 cents to 13.10 dollars and SembCorp Marine

gained 10 cents at 4.52 dollars.

Analysts said shipyards have been benefiting from strong demand for oil exploration rigs and

other vessels amid a booming oil and gas industry, with order books filled through 2010.

'It's a bit hard to say whether demand can be sustained for so long [but] shipyards are starting to book orders for 2011,' DBS Vickers Securities analyst Jesvinder Sandhu said.

In particular, Sandhu said Keppel Corp and SembCorp Marine will benefit from growing demand for semi-submersible rigs as oil exploration companies move into deep water regions.

Banking shares rebounded from Monday's selloff, with United Overseas Bank up 40 cents at

21.50 dollars, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rising 20 cents to 8.75 dollars and DBS Group up

30 cents at 20.20 dollars.

Bourse operator Singapore Exchange also rebounded, rising 20 cents to 10.70 dollars.

Gainers among property developers include Wing Tai Holdings which rose 16 cents to 3.54 dollars and Keppel Land, up 5 cents at 7.75 dollars.

(1 US dollar = 1.52 Singapore dollars)

TFN.Singapore@thomson.com

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