[April 05, 2013] Roundup: Singapore stocks end 0.24 pct lower Tweet SINGAPORE, Apr 05, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Singapore shares closed down 0. 24 percent on Friday, ahead of U.S. jobs data amid rising concern over the American economy. Thursday's report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits hit a four-month high last week raised the risks for a weaker reading on the job data due later Friday. The European Central Bank kept interest rates steady at its meeting on Thursday. The central bank President Mario Draghi said the bank stood "ready to act" because there was no certainty that the Euro-zone economy would pick up, leaving the door open for future rate cuts. SIAS Research said "we could see the index consolidating around current levels with the immediate support established at 3,300 points while resistance remains pegged at 3,320 points and 3,370 points regions." Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 8.02 points to 3, 299.78 points. Trading volume was 3.16 billion shares worth 1.46 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 342 to 133, while 476 stocks did not move. Among top actives, Yoma Strategic Holdings jumped 6 percent to 79 Singapore cents. It said it has joined a consortium led by the Digicel Group to bid for one of two mobile phone licenses that Myanmar is expected to award later this year. Hyflux Limited ended flat at 1.415 Singapore dollars. The Singapore water treatment company said it had signed two memoranda of understanding for water projects in China's Yunnan province. The total investment value for the projects in Qujing and Chuxiong is estimated to be around 1.2 billion Chinese Yuan and less than 2 billion Chinese Yuan, respectively. ST Engineering rose 0.5 percent to 4.24 Singapore dollars. It said its electronics arm had secured about 151 million Singapore dollars worth of contracts for rail electronics, satellite communications and utility projects in the first quarter of 2013. Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 2.1 percent to 66.88 U. S. dollars, while STXPO became one of the top losers by falling 3. 9 percent to 4.19 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 6.21 Chinese Yuan and 1.24 Singapore dollars) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]