Singapore stocks end down 0.08%

Singapore shares closed 0.08 percent lower on Monday, as investors turned cautious ahead of corporate earnings and a raft of global economic events including testimony from the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The concern over Euro-zone banking crisis faded as Investors believed that losses associated with the founding family of Banco Espirito Santo were unlikely to disrupt Portugal's financial system or revive broader worries about the bloc's weaker economies.
Investors now turned their attention to many of the major banks report earnings this week, along with big tech names including Intel Corporation, Yahoo, eBay and Google.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's two-day appearance in the U.S. Congress from Tuesday will also dominate global markets, which investors want to know how long rates might stay near zero once the central bank ends its asset-buying programme.
The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 2.75 points to close at 3,290.98 points. Trading volume was 1.16 billion shares worth 778 million Singapore dollars. Decliners slightly outnumbered advancers 208 to 207, while 524 stocks closed unchanged.
Among top actives, WE Holdings dropped 6.3 percent to 1.5 Singapore cents. It announced that its associate, Jubilee Industries Holdings, is acquiring a 26 percent stake in Malaysia's largest electronic manufacturing services (EMS) player, EG Industries. This acquisition, with an aggregate purchase consideration of 8.4 million Singapore dollars, will spur Jubilee Industries' transformation into a one-stop electronics solution provider for customers by developing products design and the required plastic injection moulding.
Design Studio Group closed flat at 39.5 Singapore cents. It has clinched a 75 million Singapore dollar contract to retrofit the low and mid zones of an office tower into serviced apartments. This increases order book by 32 percent to 312.5 million Singapore dollars from 237.5 million Singapore dollars as at March 31, 2014. The contract is expected to contribute positively to the Group's financial performance in 2015.
Among the top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 0.4 percent to 45.49 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 1.1 percent to 59.86 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.24 Singapore dollars)