Market Summary 17 Mar 2012

Singapore shares closed lower Friday after retreating from a fresh seven-month and year-to-date intraday high, as regional markets traded cautiously ahead of the weekend.
Regional markets were mixed and sentiment was cautious Friday as investors grappled with conflicting signals on the health of the global economy, namely stronger U.S. economic data and signs that growth in China is slowing. U.S. data later in the global day, including inflation and industrial production numbers was also keeping players on their toes.
The 30-share STI closed 0.5%, or 15.16 points lower at 3,010.68, after hitting an intraday high of 3,035.78, its highest level since Aug. 4, 2011. For the week, the benchmark Straits Times Index has gained 1.6%. Gainers outnumbered losers 250 to 129 and volumes were higher at 1.36 billion shares compared with 1.28 billion Thursday.
Despite the local bourse struggling to push on after scaling multi-month highs in the last two days, DBS Vickers seems upbeat on the market's prospects. "While the STI is likely to be stuck in a range in the near-term, wild cards such as China monetary easing and a better U.S. outlook giving a boost to its cyclical sector will re-rate the market," the house said in a note. DBS Vickers has upgraded its market view on Singapore to Overweight.
Container shipper Neptune Orient Lines was the day's best performer, adding 1.4% to S$1.46. The shipper, which was deeply in the red in 2011, has seen its stock price rise 17% this year on hopes that shipping lines' recent rate hikes can last. "(However) whether the (recent) higher freight rates hold still depends on whether the shippers can continue to restrict capacity," said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.
Among Singapore's commodity traders, Olam International rose 0.9% to S$2.35 and its peer Noble Group closed flat at S$1.42. DMG & Partners said in a note that "expectations of less volatile cotton prices will help increase investors' interest in Olam" while it was less bullish on Noble due to its greater exposure to the more cyclical industrial commodities business.