2008-Jul-13 - Singapore¡¯s property boom finally cooling: analysts

Shares rise on cautious trade

Share prices closed 1.56 percent higher yesterday on bargain hunting after recent heavy losses, but thin trading volume indicated caution amid inflation fears, dealers said.

The weighted index rose 112.7 points to 7,341.11, off a low of 7,179.24 and a high of 7,343.63, on turnover of NT$73.88 billion (US$2.43 billion).

Following a fall of more than 16 percent since the end of May, most stocks looked attractive in valuations, with market heavyweights such as financials, cements and petrochemicals in focus, dealers said.

“Valuations after recent steep declines were not able to reflect profitability of these large cap stocks. They seemed to have been oversold,” Mega Securities (Õ×ØS×Cȯ) analyst Alex Huang (üS‡ø‚¥) said.

Huang said he suspected buying came largely from major shareholders of these leading stocks to boost investor confidence amid market turbulence at home and abroad. A trader with a foreign brokerage said that government-controlled funds also played a role behind the gains.

However, Huang said daily turnover was low, indicating many investors remained sidelined because of concern over rising oil prices.

“They are watching closely when foreign institutional investors will resume buying after the massive selling,” he said.
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