Thursday 18 December 2008

Singapore Shares End Up On Property Companies, But Rally Seen Brief

Singapore shares ended higher Thursday, lifted by developers on hopes of lower interest rates, but analysts warned the bull run in both the property sector and benchmark index will likely be short-lived.

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Guanyu said...

Singapore Shares End Up On Property Companies, But Rally Seen Brief

(Dow Jones) – Singapore shares ended higher Thursday, lifted by developers on hopes of lower interest rates, but analysts warned the bull run in both the property sector and benchmark index will likely be short-lived.

“We should see more downside in the next few months, especially when the next earnings season comes, as most of the companies will likely report weak results,” a trader said.

The Straits Times Index closed up 1.1%, or 19.66 points, at 1798.95 points. On the broad market, gainers outnumbered losers 207 to 169. Volume was thin at 891.2 million shares, compared with 1.08 billion shares Wednesday.

Property-related stocks didn’t draw much interest from investors the past weeks, but indications that interest rates in Singapore could fall, following in the U.S.”s steps and China’s move to lift the property sector, have revived some interest in the shares, analysts said.

Shares of developers exposed to the Chinese market jumped, including CapitaLand, which closed up 8.1% at S$3.06. Keppel Land closed up 9.5% at S$1.62, while Chinese developer Yanlord jumped 17.4% to S$1.01.

Real estate investment trust CapitaMall closed up 3% at S$1.70. City Developments closed up 2.8% at S$6.57.

Analysts, however, warned that developers” earnings are set to fall next year as the property market continues to slow down on the local and overseas fronts.

Other winners Thursday included Singapore Airlines, which gained from lower oil prices and news that rival Qantas has ended merger talks with British Airways. The carrier’s shares ended up 4.3% at S$11.60.

Local banks weighed on the market on continued worries over higher provisions for bad loans in 2009.

DBS closed down 0.2% at S$9.70 and UOB finished down 1.5% at S$13.

OCBC, whose 87%-owned insurance arm reported a S$64 million exposure to funds related to Bernard Madoff’s investment firm, closed down 0.2% at S$5.11.