Singapore shares edged slightly up, with Singapore
Telecommunications rising to its highest since January
2008 and Keppel Corporation hitting a one-month high.
The Straits Times Index edged up 0.1 percent to an
intra-day high of 3,458.04, its highest since January 2008,
while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan gained 1 percent.
Shares of Keppel Corporation Ltd, the world's
biggest rig builder, rose to a one-month high of S$11.09 in
relatively light trading. Only 2.6 million shares changed hands,
14 percent below the five-day trading volume average.
Its crosstown rival Sembcorp Marine Ltd rose 0.9
percent to S$4.47.
Despite facing increasing competition from Chinese peers,
Singapore rig builders are expected to benefit from the strong
demand from global offshore oil and gas industry, Barclays
analysts said in a note.
"The recent flurry of activity in the Gulf of Mexico, as
well as positive demand trends from the North Sea, bodes well
for the order outlook for Singapore rig builders," they said,
giving preference to Keppel Corp for its better margin outlook.
Among other stocks, SingTel rose as much as 1.5
percent to S$4.08, its highest in nearly five-and-a-half years.
Nearly 8 million shares changed hands, making SingTel one of the
most actively traded stock by value on Monday.
SingTel, Singapore's largest company by market
capitalisation, posted a 33 percent drop in fourth-quarter net
profit, but said it will pay a final dividend of 10 cents a
share, up from 9 cents a year ago.
The company's Australian unit, Optus, has announced plans to
roll out Australia's first multi-band 4G network.
