STI gains 0.4% to 3,088.42 at closing

Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.4% to 3,088.42 at the close. Three stocks rose for every two that fell in the gauge of 30 companies.

Shares on the measure trade at an average 14.2 times estimated earnings, compared with about 15.6 times at the end of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The following shares were among the most active in the market.

Developers in China: Homebuilders in China advanced after the nation’s economy grew at a slower pace, a moderation that may ease inflation pressures. Demand is holding up in the fastest-growing major economy even after the central bank boosted lending rates five times since mid-October and lifted bank reserve requirements to a record.

 

CapitaLand (CAPL SP), Southeast Asia’s biggest developer that gets about 21% of sales from China, climbed 2.4% to $2.95. Yanlord Land Group  (YLLG SP), a Chinese homebuilder, increased 1.3% to $1.20. Guocoland (GUOL SP), the real estate company that counts China as its biggest market, added 0.9% to $2.16.

Noble Group (NOBL SP), a Hong Kong-based supplier of commodities, gained 1.1% to S$1.895. The company said it will receive US$3.2 billion ($3.9 billion) of revolving credit facilities from banks including Citigroup Inc. and DBS Group Holdings.

 

Portek International (PORT SP), the operator of port facilities in Indonesia, Algeria, Malta and Gabon, surged 6.1% to $1.40 before trading was halted. The company said it received a takeover offer from Mitsui & Co. The Japanese trading company plans to offer $1.40 per Portek share, it said. That exceeds the $1.20 per share bid by International Container Terminal Services Inc. of the Philippines.

Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE SP): Asia’s biggest aircraft maintenance company rose 1% to $2.99. The company said its ST Kinetics unit won a contract to supply buses to SMRT Corp. (MRT SP), operator of commuter trains, public buses and taxis in Singapore.

 

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP), the city-state’s biggest newspaper publisher, lost 0.5% to $3.89. The company said third-quarter net income fell 30% to $114.8 million from a year earlier after it didn’t repeat a gain from the sale of a housing project.