Singapore stocks end up 0.42 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.42 percent higher on Thursday, as U.S. Federal Reserve said it will maintain its policy of stimulating growth until the job market improves, even as it acknowledged some brightening parts of the economy. However, weak earnings outlooks and revenue fallen short of expectation at large U.S. multinationals continued to make investors nervous about a slowing economy, and thus cautious on stock market. OCBC Investment Research said a report that Spain is ready to request a bailout for its banking sector could support the market, but it will not give it a strong push as earnings season has been uninspiring. DBS Group Research said potential financial year 2013 earnings downgrades that have yet to fully flow through and the emergence of inflation worries will still likely cause the Straits Times Index to underperform the north Asian markets. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 12.78 points to 3,057.51 points. Trading volume was 1.39 billion shares worth 1.07 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 207 to 193, while 566 stocks did not move. Among top actives, Triyards jumped 6.8 percent to 86 Singapore cents. The newly-listed oil and gas firm said its net profit for the year ended in August jumped more than five times to 44.1 million U.S. dollars, helped by higher sales and additional production capacity at its shipyard in Vietnam. Sheng Siong Group Limited gained 2.1 percent to 48.5 Singapore cents. The supermarket operator said its net profit for the third quarter rose 48.1 percent to 9.8 million Singapore dollars from a year ago, helped by higher same-store sales and new store openings. CapitaRetail China Trust dropped 3.4 percent to 1.585 Singapore dollars. The trust which owns shopping malls said it has issued 57 million new units through a private placement at 1.51 Singapore dollars, raising gross proceeds of about 86.1 million Singapore dollars. Singapore Airlines inched up 0.3 percent to 10.68 Singapore dollars. It will order five Airbus A380 aircraft and 20 more A350 planes in a deal valued at 7.5 billion US dollars, looking beyond a business slowdown that has led the carrier to stop hiring cadet pilots for now. Among top gainers, Jardine Strategic rose 0.6 percent to 35.50 US dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 0.7 percent to 50.15 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1.22 Singapore dollars)