Singapore shares higher in early trade on Wall Street rebound

Singapore shares higher in early trade on Wall Street rebound - UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:26 By : Agencies Print this Story

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Singapore shares were higher in early trade as Wall Street's rebound overnight triggered some bargain hunting following recent sharp losses.

US stocks regained some ground on Monday helped by expectations for strong earnings at Apple Inc, which beat Wall Street forecasts when it reported quarterly earnings after the closing bell.

But sharp falls in SembCorp Marine and SembCorp Industries shares after they resumed trading at 10am pared earlier gains.

At 10.16 am (0216 GMT), the Straits Times Index was up 18.56 points or 0.5 percent at 3,661.20, off a high of 3,685.67 points.

There were 594.6 million shares traded valued at 698.2 million Singapore dollars.

Gainers led losers 416 to 141 with 157 stocks unchanged.

An easing down of oil prices contributed to the positive sentiment along with increased expectations for rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

'The rebound today is a reflection of the rebound of the US overnight and we believe that is sustainable,' said Malcolm Wood, a market strategist at Morgan Stanley.

Emerging Asia will continue to draw in strong investor interest because of its 'premium growth, strong fundamentals and relatively high returns,' he said.

Southeast Asia's biggest financial institution DBS Group led the market rebound, up 30 Singapore cents to 21.00 dollars.

MobileOne, the smallest telecommunications company in Singapore, added 2 cents to 2.08 dollars. It yesterday reported a 1.6 percent increase in third quarter net profit to 43.6 million dollars.

Shipyard operator SembCorp Marine was sharply lower after announcing that it may incur 165 million US dollars in losses as a result of unauthorized foreign exchange transactions entered into by group finance director Wee Sing Guan. Wee has been sacked.

SembCorp Marine lost 64 cents or 11.4 percent to 4.96 Singapore dollars, off a low of 4.60 dollars. In contrast, parent company SembCorp Industries shed 50 cents or 7.9 percent to 5.80 dollars, off a low of 5.40 dollars.

Kim Eng Securities has downgraded SembCorp Marine's rating to 'hold' from 'buy', expressing disappointment over the apparent lack of internal controls that led to such a situation. The brokerage has a target price of 4.80 dollars on the stock.

Shipping and shipbuilding company Cosco Singapore also declined, down 35 cents or 4.7 percent to 7.15 dollars. SembCorp Marine said late Monday that it has sold 39 million shares in Cosco for 272.2 million dollars.

SembCorp Marine still holds 111.4 million Cosco Singapore shares, equivalent to 4.98 percent of the company.

(1 US dollar = 1.46 Singapore dollars)

pearl.bantillo@thomson.com

ys/ng

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

Singapore shares higher in early trade on Wall Street rebound - UPDATE