Singapore shares rose on Friday, snapping a five-session losing streak, after U.S. jobless claims data pointed to an improving labour market.
The Straits Times Index was up 0.7%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2% higher.
Some of the biggest gainers on the index include beer and soft drinks company Thai Beverage Pcl, which rose 2%, and warehouse services provider Global Logistic Properties, which advanced 1.4%.
Shares of Singapore airport services and catering firm SATS jumped as much as 4.5% to $3.27, the highest since Aug. 1. More than 1.8 million shares were traded, 1.9 times the average full-day volume over the past 30 days.
SATS will buy a cruise and ferry terminal operator from a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings for $110 million, the company said after market hours on Thursday.
CIMB Research raised its target price on SATS to $3.59 from $3.52 and maintained its “outperform” rating on the stock, saying the acquisition will add to earnings.
The brokerage increased its earnings per share estimate on the company by about 2% to 3% for the fiscal 2015-2016 period to take into account the buy. “Higher growth at Changi Airport is a potential catalyst,” it said.
Shares of palm oil producer Indofood Agri Resources rose as much as 3.1%. DBS Vickers on Friday upgraded the stock to “buy” and raised its target price to $0.93 from $0.81, citing a higher forecast for output and average selling price.
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