Chinese industrial production rose 9.6% in October from a
year earlier, beating market forecasts and picking up pace from the previous
month. The improvement in manufacturing "adds more fuel to the
bottoming-out argument," said Justin Harper, a market strategist at IG
Markets. Meanwhile, inflation in China moderated in October, showing
that the government has room to further stimulate the economy if necessary.
"This has caused stimulus junkies to start salivating at the prospect of
more policy easing from the PBOC," said Mr. Harper.
But worries about the U.S. fiscal cliff weighed on Asian
equities markets generally. Still, Singapore 's
30-share Straits Times Index shed only 0.1%, less than regional counterparts
like Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which was down 0.9% Friday, and Korea 's Kospi,
which lost 0.5%.
The STI ended 2.69 points lower at 3009.56. Psychological
support at the 3000 level might have curtailed the STI's losses, as trade was
"directionless" for most of the day, said SIAS Research analyst Ng Kian
Teck. Volumes were lower with 1.27 billion shares changing hands compared with
1.72 billion Thursday. In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 263 to
135.
Noble Group plunged 7.8% to close at S$1.175, making it the
biggest decliner among the STI components after its third-quarter earnings
disappointed investors. UOB KayHian cut the commodity supply-chain company to a
sell rating from buy, citing a weaker-than-expected performance in the
agriculture and energy businesses, even though the company posted a net profit
of US$75 million overall.
Wilmar climbed 1.6% to end at S$3.17, after reporting a 26%
rise in third-quarter income.
OCBC crept 0.2% higher to end at S$9.10 as its third-quarter
results, including a nearly fourfold increase in net operating profit, were in
line with what the market was expecting.
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