Singapore stocks end down 0.05% ahead of US job data

Singapore shares closed 0.05 percent lower, as investors waited for key U.S. payroll data due later Friday. Market expected payrolls to have risen by a solid 196,000 in December, just below November's count of 203,000. The jobless rate is expected to stay at 7.0 percent though there was some risk of a higher number should the participation rate rise from its unusually low levels. Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi underlined after the policy meeting on Thursday the bank's determination to act should inflation risk turning into deflation or rising money market rates threaten a fragile recovery. CIMB Research said "we expect prices to fall below 3,025 in due time." Phillip Securities Research said "the next resistance is at 3, 170 points, and a short term consolidation is likely at these levels." Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index inched down 1.54 points to 3,143.87 points. Trading volume was 3.68 billion shares worth 963.5 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 213 to 186, while 546 stocks did not move. Among top actives, SingHaiyi Group ended at 2.2 Singapore cents. It announced that it will participate in the acquisition of TripleOne Somerset by taking a 20 percent stake, worth 66 million Singapore dollars, in a consortium consisting of Boustead Singapore and several other investors, to purchase the property for 970 million Singapore dollars. The 17-storey property comprises two office towers with two floors of retail space. Ezra Holdings dropped 2.5 percent to 1.34 Singapore dollars. Its core net profit for first quarter came in at about 4 million U. S. dollars, excluding some 2.4 million U.S. dollars in one-off gains on dilution of interest in associate. ARA Asset Management rose 1.9 percent to 1.855 Singapore dollars. It recently entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement to acquire a real estate platform in Korea, making immediate foothold into a new market. Its private funds business continues to grow steadily with the launch of a new platform, Morningside Investment Partners. Among top gainers, Jardine Strategic rose 0.6 percent to 33.10 U.S. dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 0.4 percent to 53.61 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.27 Singapore dollars)