Singapore stocks end almost flat

Singapore shares closed 0.02 percent higher on Thursday, buoyed by rise in U.S. stock overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained the language suggesting that rate hikes would not happen for a "considerable time."
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen emphasized that policy would be highly dependent on how the economy actually performed in coming months. Wall Street seemed to find some relief in the fact that the Federal Reserve would not be hiking for a few months at least.
The benchmark Straits Times Index inched up 0.81 points to close at 3,347.28 points. Trading volume was 1.95 billion shares worth 960 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 238 to 170, while 531 stocks closed unchanged
Mermaid Maritime Public Company rose 2.6 percent to 39 Singapore cents. It has been awarded two saturation diving services contracts. Both contracts are estimated to be of approximately 6 to 8 months duration in total.
The first of these two contracts has already commenced and the second will start back - to - back upon completion of the first. The total estimated value of these contracts is between 40 million and 45 million U.S. dollars.
Raffles Education Corporation gained 3 percent to 34 Singapore cents. It announced an approximately 39.8 million Singapore dollar acquisition of a hotel and facilities, seven commercial units and a plot of land with teaching building and dormitories, in Nendaz, Switzerland to establish a hospitality management school, a design school and a Swiss International Baccalaureate school, marking its maiden entry into Europe.
The Hotel and the seven commercial units sit on a total land area of 5,910 square meters with a built-up area of 9,895 square meters.
STATS ChipPAC shed 1.6 percent to 61.5 Singapore cents. It now expects net revenues for the third quarter of 2014 to be 398 million to 405 million Singapore dollars, a decrease of approximately 1 percent to 3 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014, versus previous guidance of increase of about 2 percent to 8 percent from second quarter of this year.
The delay in wafer supply at several key customers has impacted the third quarter revenue as some demand has shifted out of the third quarter of 2014. In addition, the Company is experiencing a faster shift in demand from the high-end smartphone market space to the low-cost smartphone segment that has lower average selling price.
Among the top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 0.4 percent to 62. 20 U.S. dollars, whereas UOB became one of the top losers by falling 0.3 percent to 22.48 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.27 Singapore dollars)