Singapore stocks jump

Singapore share prices closed 0.48 percent higher on Thursday following another record finish on Wall Street, but late profit taking put a lid on gains, dealers said. The continued strength of the Chinese market helped underpin local sentiment, they said.
The Straits Times Index climbed 16.54 points to 3,469.26 on volume of 2.71 billion shares, worth 2.21 billion Singapore dollars (1.46 billion US). Losers beat gainers 410 to 367, with 658 issues unchanged. While solid earnings results and a strong surge in overseas markets have underpinned recent gains locally, dealers have warned the market is due for a consolidation especially with the earnings season tapering off by next week.
"Every time the market goes up too far, too quick, I would expect a correction," DMG Partners Securities Pte Ltd's senior dealing director Gabriel Yap said. But he noted that the market's valuation is not yet excessive, especially with the revaluations of companies that recently announced good results.
"Market valuation is about 17 times prospective earnings, while for small cap counters, you can still get some of them at 12 times, so there's actually value to be found," Yap said. "The earnings reports affirmed the earnings growth of the companies, and where earnings have exceeded expectations, I think there's revaluation potential for some companies," he said.
Banks drove the index higher, with DBS Group Holdings up 0.10 at 23.60 and United Overseas Bank rose 0.40 to 22.80, with both having reported strong first-quarter earnings on the back of brisk growth in net interest income.
But Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp retreated 0.10 to 9.40, hit by profit-taking on gains made Wednesday and early today after it reported strong first-quarter earnings. Among other blue chips, ST Engineering gained 0.08 to 3.54, Singapore Airlines put on 0.10 to 18.30, while Singapore Telecommunications was flat at 3.34.
Property heavyweights also rose, with Keppel Land up 0.15 at 9.50, City Developments up 0.20 at 17.00 and CapitaLand putting on 0.05 to 8.40. Technology stocks were mixed, with Chartered Semiconductor down 0.05 at 1.24 and STATS ChipPAC losing 0.01 to 1.83, while Venture Corp advanced 0.20 to 15.40.