By Eveline Danubrata
SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Singapore shares rose on Monday after Wall Street rebounded to post its best gains in nearly four weeks on Friday, but government measures to cool the city-state's property market will limit any upside.
By the lunch break, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.6 percent at 2,956.70. Nearly 139 million shares had changed hands.
Strong buying interest at a key technical level and short-covering sparked the U.S. market's comeback on Friday, as investors took a more positive view of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments about the economy and the Fed's readiness to act.
Local dealers expect the market to trade in a narrow range after the break, with one predicting the market will trade in a 2,950-2,965 range.
'There is clearly considerable nervousness out there, but the markets in Singapore and across the region have gotten some support from the bounce at Wall Street on Friday,' said David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics.
'Bernanke tried to reassure people that although the U.S. growth has slowed, they still look for positive growth and they do have some policy measures ready in case the U.S. slips further,' he said.
'The most likely scenario is for slower growth in the U.S, together with the ongoing growth in China, to still sustain the global economy.'
As for property, analysts said the Singapore government appeared intent on ensuring residential property remained affordable and will impose new measures if the latest steps failed.
Singapore announced on Monday restrictions on second home purchases as part of new measures to cool its residential property market, hurting property stocks.
The Singapore Stock Exchange's real estate index fell 0.43 percent, underperforming the broader market.
Shares of Singapore property developers CapitaLand, City Developments and Keppel Land were down 1-3.5 percent at the midday break.
However, shares of Singapore train operators SMRT Corp and SBS Transit rose as much as 2.5 and 1.1 percent, respectively, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the city-state plans to invest S$60 billion ($44 billion) in its rail network.
(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Kevin Lim)
((eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5669; Reuters Messaging: eveline.danubrata.reuters.com@reuters.net) For Singapore Hot Stock reports click on For Southeast Asia stock reports click on For breaking Asian equity news headlines For emerging market forex reports click on For Top News package click on Keywords: SINGAPORE STOCKS/MIDDAY (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Singapore shares rose on Monday after Wall Street rebounded to post its best gains in nearly four weeks on Friday, but government measures to cool the city-state's property market will limit any upside.
By the lunch break, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.6 percent at 2,956.70. Nearly 139 million shares had changed hands.
Strong buying interest at a key technical level and short-covering sparked the U.S. market's comeback on Friday, as investors took a more positive view of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments about the economy and the Fed's readiness to act.
Local dealers expect the market to trade in a narrow range after the break, with one predicting the market will trade in a 2,950-2,965 range.
'There is clearly considerable nervousness out there, but the markets in Singapore and across the region have gotten some support from the bounce at Wall Street on Friday,' said David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics.
'Bernanke tried to reassure people that although the U.S. growth has slowed, they still look for positive growth and they do have some policy measures ready in case the U.S. slips further,' he said.
'The most likely scenario is for slower growth in the U.S, together with the ongoing growth in China, to still sustain the global economy.'
As for property, analysts said the Singapore government appeared intent on ensuring residential property remained affordable and will impose new measures if the latest steps failed.
Singapore announced on Monday restrictions on second home purchases as part of new measures to cool its residential property market, hurting property stocks.
The Singapore Stock Exchange's real estate index fell 0.43 percent, underperforming the broader market.
Shares of Singapore property developers CapitaLand, City Developments and Keppel Land were down 1-3.5 percent at the midday break.
However, shares of Singapore train operators SMRT Corp and SBS Transit rose as much as 2.5 and 1.1 percent, respectively, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the city-state plans to invest S$60 billion ($44 billion) in its rail network.
(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Kevin Lim)
((eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5669; Reuters Messaging: eveline.danubrata.reuters.com@reuters.net) For Singapore Hot Stock reports click on For Southeast Asia stock reports click on For breaking Asian equity news headlines For emerging market forex reports click on For Top News package click on Keywords: SINGAPORE STOCKS/MIDDAY (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2010 AFX News
