Oil holds losses near one-week low after surprise stockpile gain

Oil held losses near the lowest close in a week as US crude stockpiles unexpectedly increased, keeping supplies at the highest in at least three decades with the peak summer demand period approaching its end.

Futures were little changed in New York after falling 2.8 per cent Wednesday. Inventories rose by 2.5 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey had projected a decline. Iraq will attend informal Opec talks next month in Algiers, Deputy Oil Minister Fayyad Al-Nima said in a phone interview.

Oil entered a bull market on Aug 18, less than three weeks after tumbling into a bear market. Prices surged partly on speculation that informal discussions among members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers may lead to action to stabilise the market.Click Here To Register For Free Trial Services OR Give A Missed Call : +6531581402 Follow Us On Twitter : www.twitter.com/epicresearchsg Like Us On Facebook : www.facebook.com/EpicResearchSingapore Need Any Assistance Feel Free To Mail Us at : info@epicresearch.sg

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Stocks to watch: Singtel, Epicentre, Sin Heng Heavy Machinery

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (Singtel): The telco said on Thursday it plans to buy a 21 per cent stake in Intouch Holdings PCL and a 7.39 per cent stake in Bharti Telecom from Temasek for S$2.47 billion in cash.

It said the acquisitions give it a unique opportunity to increase economic exposure to high-growth telecom sectors in Thailand and India.

Epicentre Holdings: The group has issued a profit warning for the financial year ended June 30, 2016, adding that it expects to report a loss, due to "lower sale from certain Apple products as well as erosion of gross profit margin derived from the sale of third party accessories as a result of increased price competition".

It also provided added provisions in anticipation of the soft information technology and consumer electronics sector.Click Here To Register For Free Trial Services OR Give A Missed Call : +6531581402 Follow Us On Twitter : www.twitter.com/epicresearchsg Like Us On Facebook : www.facebook.com/EpicResearchSingapore Need Any Assistance Feel Free To Mail Us at : info@epicresearch.sg

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U.S. stocks post modest weekly gains; Nasdaq hits record

The S&P 500 and Dow industrials pared most of the losses to finish slightly lower Friday, limiting the main benchmarks’ weekly gains, as weakness in shares of mining and chemical companies weighed on the indexes.
The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.08% retreated 1.74 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,184.05, weighed by sharp declines in materials, while seven of the index’s 10 sectors closed in negative territory. The index ended the week roughly where it started.
Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.09% shook off earlier losses to close up 4.5 points, or 0.1%, at 5,232.89. The tech-heavy index gained 2.3% over the week.

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Singapore shares open lower on Thursday; STI sheds 0.7%

SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Thursday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) shedding 0.7 per cent or 20.48 points to 2,921.01 as at 9.03am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 83 to 42, or about two to one, after 98.9 million shares worth S$67.9 million had changed hands.


Offshore contractor Vallianz Holdings was an early mover, dropping 44.4 per cent or 1.6 Singapore cents to trade at two Singapore cents on the back of 13.6 million traded shares. The company announced late on Wednesday that non-executive chairman Raymond Goh had resigned for health reasons. Click Here To Register For Free Trial Services OR Give A Missed Call : +6531581402 Follow Us On Twitter : www.twitter.com/epicresearchsg Like Us On Facebook : www.facebook.com/EpicResearchSingapore Need Any Assistance Feel Free To Mail Us at : info@epicresearch.sg

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DBS Group Holdings posts better than expected earnings of $1.12 bil, up 15% on year

DBS Group Holdings posted a 15% rise in earnings to $1.12 billion for the 2Q15 ended June.

This beats Bloomberg’s consensus earnings estimate of $1.057 billion as well as highest forecast of $1.11 billion from analysts polled.

Second-quarter net profit was 1% below the record earnings in the previous quarter.

In 2Q15, total income grew 16% to $2.69 billion as net interest income and fee income reached new quarterly highs, but partially offset by lower associate contributions from the divestment of the operating entities of Hwang Capital (Malaysia).

Net interest income rose 12% to $1.74 billion from an eight basis point increase in net interest margin to 1.75%.

Loan and deposit volumes were also higher.

Non-interest income increased 25% to $947 million.

Net fee income rose 16% to $582 million as contributions from most activities recorded double-digit percentage growth.

Stronger trading income resulted in a 44% increase in other non-interest income to $365 million.

Expenses rose 16% to $1.22 billion.

Allowances were 7% higher at $137 million as loan resolutions a year ago had resulted in specific allowance write-backs.

For the 1H15 ended June, DBS’s net profit hit a new high of $2.4 billion.

The board has declared a first-half dividend of 30 cents per share compared to 28 cents a year ago.

Based on liquidity requirements effective Jan 1, 2015 under the Basel framework, the group’s average liquidity coverage ratio during the second quarter was 131%, which was above the final regulatory minimum of 100% effective Jan 1, 2019.

The group has also met the net stable funding ratio requirement which will come into effect on 1 January 2018.

Capital remained healthy with the Common Equity Tier-1 ratio at 13.4%, Tier-1 ratio at 13.4% and the total capital adequacy ratio at 15.3%.

The leverage ratio of 7.3% was twice the minimum of 3% currently required by the Basel Committee.

DBS closed 2 cents higher at $21.40 on July 24.

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