Singapore share prices closed flat on Thursday as jitters over record high oil prices of more than 96 dollars a barrel dampened the upbeat mood whipped by a US interest rate cut, dealers said. The Straits Times Index had stayed in positive territory for most of the day, but ended the session 2.14 points lower to 3,803.56.
Volume was 2.77 billion shares worth 3.04 billion Singapore dollars (2.10 billion US). There were 413 rising issues, 401 decliners and 839 stocks were unchanged. "We have a few important market variables coming up and oil prices being at a level where they are now, it's not a surprise to find the market move between optimism and to some extent caution," said Song Seng Wun, research head at CIMB-GK Securities.
Oil prices barreled through new records of more than 96 dollars in Asian trade Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and following news of a surprise decline in US crude stocks.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, briefly touched an all-time high of 96.24 dollars a barrel before easing. By late Thursday, the contract was trading at 95.59 dollars a barrel, up 1.06 dollars, from its close of 94.53 dollars a barrel in US trades Wednesday.
Brent North Sea crude for December delivery was up 89 cents to 91.52. "Now, it seems that triple digits is going to be the target," said Tony Nunan, manager for energy risk at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, referring to oil at 100 dollars a barrel. "It's anybody's guess."
Singapore Airlines gained 10 cents to 19.70 a day after reporting a 73 percent rise in second-quarter net profit from a year earlier. COSCO Corp (Singapore), a bulk shipping operator that owns a shipyard in China, added 10 cents to 7.85. Container shipping company Neptune Orient Lines Ltd advanced 20 cents to 5.30 also on higher net profit.
Among the banks, DBS Group rose 20 cents to 22.60, United Overseas Bank fell 30 cents to 21.20 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp pulled back 20 cents to 9.0. Oil refiner Singapore Petroleum, a beneficiary of the current high oil prices, jumped 40 cents to 8.60 dollars. Singapore Telecom fell eight cents to 4.0.
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