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This blog is mainly for the convenience of archiving my investing thoughts and notes, and sharing with my close kakis. Hope you enjoy and participate in this sharing of notes and comments. Let's profit together from the bull ride as well as from mitigating the bear.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Market News - 市场日记 October 2011

27-10-2011 08:15:59
Singapore Stocks-May rise after US gains; GMG in focus

SINGAPORE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Singapore shares are likely to rise on Thursday following gains on Wall Street overnight, helped by some progress in Europe to resolve its sovereign debt problems.

Rubber firm GMG Global may be in focus after it said it plans to raise S$349.4 million ($273.7 million) through a rights issue of 3.84 billion new shares at S$0.091 each. Shareholders will be offered one rights share for every one ordinary share held.

Bare-bones EU debt deal news enough for buyers; Bonds fall as euro zone progress hurts safety bid; Euro hangs tough as Europe hammers out deal; Gold rises 1 pct on uncertainty over EU summit; Oil falls as U.S. crude stocks rise [O/R]

Stocks and factors to watch:

-- SATS LTD - Singapore food and aircraft ground handling firm SATS said on Tuesday it has sold Daniels Group, its non-aviation food business in Britain for as much as 164 million pounds ($262 million).

-- MAPLETREE INDUSTRIAL TRUST - which owns industrial assets, said its distribution per unit for July-September was 2.05 Singapore cents, which exceeded its forecast by 10.8 percent.

Its earnings were driven by positive rental revisions and contributions from newly acquired factories in Singapore.

-- CHINA DAIRY - said on Tuesday that a unit of Fraser and Neave , one of its large shareholders, is in talks to sell its 29.5 percent stake in the firm to potential buyers.

-- SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES LTD - said on Tuesday it will be part of a consortium that will develop 715 hectares of land near the the Chinese city of Nanjing.

-- SINGAPORE AIRLINES LTD - the world's second-largest airline by market value, will unveil the name of its new low-cost carrier and some of the destinations it will fly to on November 1, the company said on Tuesday.

- Straits Times Index rose 0.33 percent on Tuesday to 2,769.94 points.

- The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.39 percent to 11,869.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 1.05 percent to 1,242.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2,650.67.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Market Update 市场日记 - Aug 2011

10 Aug (Wed):
Overall Market:
- The market went thru a roller coaster ride for the past week. The bear came in having a big fight with the bull. Before the fight is settled, one might be more prudent to consolidate one's portfolio and cash while revising/keeping a watch list of only the quality and trendy stocks.
- STI this week breached the 2920 support level, if failed to hang on, next level is ~2650.
Watch List:
- sectors: defensive utilities with high yield; selected commodities and resources
- companies with substainable themes and concepts (e.g iPhone-related, China-national development/policy related, S'pore offshore & marine-related)

3 Aug (Wed):
Overall Market:
- Market up for one day yest after resolution of US debt ceiling issue; today the market concerns shift to the fundamental issue of possible recession in US and slow in growth of emerging markets.
- Overnite, Dow -265, FTSE -56; tis morn (10am) Jap/Aust markets opened down ~1.6-1.8%
- Palm Oil up ~3130, C. Oil ~93, Gold goes higher ~1660
Last Week:
- sold more OCBC holdings @9.93 (near 6-mo hi) last Thu as it seemed shy of getting near te $9.97 barrier
(but on Monday it managed to leap to 10.09 b4 retreating to 10.02 staying above $10)
Today:

- most stocks gapped down esp those lead movers (HK gaming stocks, ..)

27 July (Wed):

Overall Market
- More or less continued the trend from prev day with the US debt ceiling issue still unresolved.
- End of the day, HSI & STI closed not much changed (~-.1 & +.2% resp.)
Today:
-
closed OCBC (@9.83) and StraitsAsia (@3.06) long positions for a small gain to preserve capital for other opportunities


Sunday, July 3, 2011

Market Update - July 2011

27 July (Wed):
Overall Market:
- More or less continued the trend from prev day with the US debt ceiling issue still unresolved.
- End of the day, HSI & STI closed not much changed (~-.1 & +.2% resp.)
Today:
-
closed OCBC (@9.83) and StraitsAsia (@3.06) long positions for a small gain to preserve capital for other opportunities

26 July (Tue):

Overall Market:
- overnite Dow -88 and Gold up further ~1616 with US debt uncertainty, Silver ~40+; Crude Oil ~99, Palm Oil corrected 40 to 3100. FTSE -10. Tech stocks were fixed: Baidu up 10 pt (~6%) while TI down 1%
*This Week:
Monday: PP on SLM (880) and partly on OCBC as they bounced off Resistance (19.9 and 9.9 resp.).
Watch Lists:
SG: (+) OSIM (reversal?), Kepland, F & N, SembCorp, M1; (-) NOL, CityDev.
HK: Consumers (887, 1114, 1828), Gaming (1928, 200), Banks (1128, 3988, 939)
.

22 July (Fri):

Overall Market:
*Overnite Dow jumped 152 pts; commods mixed: Gold ~1590, Silver ~39, Oil up ~99+; but Palm Oil some profit taking ~3130; FTSE +46. Overall sentiment improved due to Greek assistance package agreement and strong tech stock (Apple, ..) results.
*This Week:

- Yest long First Tractor(38) @10.26 (Break Weekly Peak:10.24)
- KepCorp announced improved results n $0.17-dividend
*Watch list:
- SG: (rebound/reversal) SGX, CityDev
- HK: (Consumer) 116(Chow S.S.), 738(La Saunder)

20 July (Wed):

Overall Market:
*Overnite Dow jumped 200 pts; commods mixed: Gold ~1590, Oil 97+; but Palm Oil recovered to ~3135; FTSE +31.
*This Week:
- Today long OCBC on BR 9.60 (major res.)
- Monday, long SJM(880) on BR19.20 2nd time within a week
*Watch list:
- HKG: (Commod) PetroChina, Jiangxi Copper, Anhui C.; (Banks rebound?) ABC 农行,ICBC 工行, ..
- SG: CityDev (rebound?), GentS (downtrend?), ...

16 July (Sun):
Overall Market:
*(Friday) Dow closed +42; commods firmed: Gold 1595, Oil 97; but Palm Oil dropped -0.9% to 3116; FTSE -3.
*Watch list:
- HKG: SJM, Air China
- SG: CWT, HL Asia, ...

12 July (Tue):
Overall Market:
*(morning) Overnite Dow retreated (-1.2%) over concerns with Euro debts, gold stays ~1540+ while oils weakened crude oil ~94, palm oil ~RM3040;
Today:
*GARw - sold remainder @.16 with slight gain while palm oil price weakens

11 July (Mon):

This Week:
*Straits Asia - bt
@3.03, Macd (turned +ve) n ADX crossover w volume.

10 July (Sun):

Overall Market:
* On Friday Dow (-62), S&P, Nasdaq all closed lower by more than 0.4%; FTSE -63, Palm Oil +RM23, Gold up to 1545; oil opened higher but ended down to 96.4 -2.19

*
GARw - (Golden Agri warrant) sold some @.17 with a gain of $0.02 ~10+% while Palm oil price recovers
Watchlist:
- Straits Asia, GAR, F&N, OCBC, ...
-
SJM (bullish cup & handle), Johnson E., Ch.Metal Recycl., Taifeng, Shangrila (Break Res 20.0), PetroChina, Hangten, ..

6 July (Wed):

Overall Market:
*
Overnite, Dow and S&P made slight adjustment ~-0.3% while Nasdaq is level; Gold and oil are up at ~1510+ and ~96+ respectively while palm Oil continues retreat but stay above MYR3000
*Singapore shares may be buoyed by higher commodity prices, but concerned about spreading Europe debt woes.

4 July (Mon):
(US market closed for holiday)
Overall Market:
*
On Friday, Dow + 168 Nasdaq +42; metals & commod mostly edge up: Gold ~1494, Silver ~34, Oil ~95 but Palm Oil down ~3036
Region:

*Thailand election decided smoothly

*Asian markets get lift from exporters and financials
Local:
- Tiger Air dropped ~10% tis morn upon Australia ban
This Week:
*
CWT sold te remaining tis morn @1.35 as the bearish sign shooting star appeared on Friday
Watchlist:
(eying on rebound play)
- F&N, OCBC, KepCorp, ..
-
Johnson E., Ch.Metal Recycl., Taifeng, Luk Fook, ..

1 July (Fri): (HKG market closed for holiday)
Overall Market:
Overnite Dow continued its mini-rally upon encouraging US data and eased Greece concern; metals steady while oils softened after recent rebound
- NASDAQ+25, FTSE +80; Gold 1501+, Silver 34+; palm oil -37, crude oil ~94.
This Week:
S'pore:
*CWT resumed trading after acquisition announcement, this morn sold some @1.35 to PP (small gain of $.08) on R1(1st Resistance)
, may sell more at next resistance.
*Mapletree IT: sold some @1.17 (with thin gain of .02) to reserve some capital.
*Simulated, paper trade (for practice/short of fund):
- OCBC: on 30-Jun, upon BR9.24 (Bt@9.25, sold@9.40, simulated gain of .15)
- F&N: on 30-Jun, upon pennant breakout 5.70, target R1-5.90 .....(highest 5.87 today)
HKG:
*Dongfeng #489: closed @15 to reserve some capital, after rebound from ~$13.50 on China policy relax of vehicle control (still shy of $16 level before vehicle control announcement)
*Johnson E.#179: Bt @5.07, in initial stage of turnaround (annual results +136%; concern: copper price)
- Sands China: missed its BP19.38 early this week, didn't chase beyond 3%, closed $21 yest.
Watchlists:
- (HK) Dongfeng M., Johnson E., Ch.Metal Recycl., Taifeng (#873), Luk Fook, ..
- (SP)
GARw, Mapletree Ind. (block trades), OCBC, ..

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Defining Bull Market Based on MA250

Bull Market Stages:
Stage 1 - Index crossing and staying above MA250
Stage 2 - MA50 crossing above MA250, called "golden cross"
Stage3 - MA250 moving up, usually the uptrend will maintain quite a long period

Examples:
  • On Feb-6-2006, Shanghai A index closed at 1349 when MA 50 crossed MA250 s (golden cross), the index accumulated a gain of 360% reaching 6429
  • On 1-Jun-2009, the golden cross appeared in Shanghai A and Taiwan market indices (entering Bull Stage 2) while other markets (US, UK, and Asia) still await in Stage 1. On 16-Jun-2009, the golden cross appeared in S'pore STI index, hence also entered Bull Stage 2; around mid-Sep 2009, MA250 started moving up, technically entering Bull Stage 3.
(Source: RBC-IS(Asia), 01-06-2009)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

My CPF Investment

My shares portfolio with CPF fund:
1)M1 - selected based on high dividend 6-7% (attributed to a minimum of 80 dividend distribution), plus potential business growth due to new NGNBN (next-gen broadband network) service launch in the near future.
2)Parkway Health Reit - selected based on high dividend ~6% (attributed to steady rental income stream from health industry tenants).
3)Euyansang - selected for its long-term steady growth (achieved 2-digit revenue compound annual growth in the past ten years), being the TCM sector leader in SE Asia with an established brand name.
Strategy: Accumulate on dips.

(update: 8-6-2011)

Monday, June 6, 2011

Market Update - June 2011

24 June (Fri):
Overall Market:
(MarketWatch.com) Overnite Dow staged a late rebound to trim early loss of 200pts to only 59 (to reflect on mixed reports:
- (i) a plan to release petro from global reserves hammed oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chervon; and (ii) Greek authorities have agreed to a new 5-year austerity plan to avoid a sovereign default)
.
- NASDAQ+17, FTSE -98; Gold 1520+, Silver 34+; palm oil -42, crude oil ~92.
- at noon, STI slightly up ~8 while HSI edged up ~300 pts.

Last week:
- quiet while market mood is soft
This Week:
- today sold Tech Oil&Gas @1.01 PP with a gain of $0.1, as it softens after 2 days of surge from $0.90
Watchlists:
- (HK) Dongfeng M., Johnson E. (rebound)
- (SP)
GARw (accumulating), Mapletree Ind. (PP), KepCorp (rebound)

19 June (Sun):
Friday closing:
* STI 3,005 -14, HSI 21,695 -257
; Dow 12,004 +42, NASDAQ -7, FTSE +16
* Oil 92.9 -2, Gold 1540 +10.9

17 June (Fri):
Today:
- market is weak
- accumulate GARw on dip at .145 and .15; Golden Agri surged at the close & reversed from -.01 to +.02
to close at .685

15 June (Wed):
Overall Market:
- overnite Dow +123, NASDQQ+36, FTSE +29; metals mostly edged up: Gold 1526 +0.2%, Silver 35.6; most oils (palm oil -.2%, crude oil future ~99, ..) slightly off.
- today STI slightly up while HSI correction
continues
Last week:
-Long KepCorp @11.16 on rebound off Sup 11.06
This Week:
- closed KepCorp SL@10.96, lost 0.20, rebound didn't materialise :(
Watchlist:
- (HK) Haier, Dongfeng M., Johnson E.
- (SP)
CWT, GARw, Mapletree Ind. (-)Gent SP, F&N, ..

7 June, 12.40pm:
(my blog resumed after HongKong trip)

Overall Market:
- overnite Dow -61 , FTSE +8; today STI & HSI continue correction (-1, -165)
Commodity
Sector (extracted from Reuter/UOBKH morning news):
-Gold hits one-month high on weak U.S. outlook. SPOT GOLD 1543.89 +0.05% +0.840
-Oil falls on OPEC hike possibility, demand concern. US CRUDE 98.8 -0.21% -0.210
Commodity Counters:
-Olam International confirmed plans to raise S$740 million through a placement of new shares with an eye on future acquisitions. The company plans to sell 94.4 million shares to institutional investors and another 94.4 million shares to Singapore state investor Temasek at S$2.60 a share. The offer price represents a discount of 8.4 percent from the weighted average price of S$2.8381 on June 3.
-MERMAID MARITIME said it plans to consolidate its drilling business under a new unit Asia Offshore Drilling, which will list on Norwegian stock exchange Oslo Axess by end of the month.
-THE THINK ENVIRONMENTAL proposed a change in its core business activity to the mining of precious minerals and natural resources, and said it plans to invest about $41 million in its gold mining assets. The firm will dispose of assets in its green environmental business and change its name to LionGold Corp. The changes are subject to the approval of shareholders.
-Golden Agri Resources' crude palm oil production could rise by more than 10 percent this year if weather conditions remain favourable, its executive director said on Tuesday.
Last week:
-bgt Mapletree IT @1.15, it seems building up at te narrow range of 1.15-1.17
-added more CWT @1.26, on te back of increased vol + gd recom (UOBKH) based on promising expansion into commodity biz (TP~2.0)
This week:
- shopping for any good values during te correction

Watchlist:
- (HK) commodity sector: copper, aluminium n oil; gaming sector (Galaxy, SJM, ..) ; Ch. financing sector, ..
- (SP)
CWT, GARw, F&N, (-)Gent SP, TigerAir, ..

Friday, May 6, 2011

MARKET UPDATE - May 2011

26 May, 10.40am:
(my blog was freezed for 10 days due to traveling)

*Global:
overall still concern with US recovery slow down and debts in Europe, gold resume uptrend as USD surge subsides; HK market likely to be range trading above 22000 till end of May.
Last week:

-sold some GARw @.175 w/ gain of >10%
This week:
-
closed NOL s-pos on Mon w/ slight gain; yest added some GARw @.155
*Watching:
- (HK) PetroChina, JiangxiCop, SJM, ..; (SP) F&N, GARw, CWT, ...
*The following extracted from Reuters:
Singapore stocks may start higher on Thursday on the back of Wall Street's overnight rebound and firmer commodity prices, US indices up 0.3 - 0.5%. Gold sets 3-wk high on option expiry, euro zone debt; Oil hits 2-week high on US distillate draw, dollar.
Stocks and factors to watch: -
- Singapore Airlines - released plans to enter the long-haul budget carrier market by setting up a new subsidiary which is expected to compete with AirAsia X.
- CAPITALAND - has emerged as the top bidder at S$967 million ($775 million) for a site in Jurong in the western part of the city state, according to CBRE Research.
- Singapore's Mapletree Logistics Trust (MIT) - said on Wednesday it will buy KPPC Pyeongtaek Centre, a warehouse facility in South Korea.

18 May (10.30am SP):
*Global:
- DJI (-.55%) & FTSE (-60) down on slow recovery and economic concern but Nasdaq up;
- metals (Gold ~1490) and commodities (coffee, rubber, ..) mostly up, palm oil unch
- Lidya oil minister deflects
*Regional/local:
- STI, HSI, SSE up on opening.

- CLSA says to watch Baidu & Tencents on Internet growth
- economist says China may see more hikes this year
*Watching:
(-) NOL, F&N
(+) GAR, OCBC, FirstRes
SJM: tricky path up, up movement followed by 2 down bars, then a final gap up b4 te +ve result announcement (even thgh missed te trade but it's an eye opener watch)

17 May:

*Global:
  • The main Wall Street indexes fell between 0.4 percent and 1.6 percent, with tech stocks leading the decline as investors sold winners in a sign of growing unease with pockets of U.S. economic weakness.
  • Dow-47, slide on Greek debt concern, Gold ~1490, Silver ~33, Palm Oil 3255 +60, FTSE -2

*Regional/local:

  • HSBC posted 8% rise on 1Q revenue, hiring 2000 workers in S'pore and China.
  • HKG to watch: (+) Galaxy (#27), Sa Sa(#178), SJM(#880), Real Gold(#246)
  • Vesak Day holiday in S'pore, USD-SGD unch.

16 May:

*Global: Dow -100 on Fri, both Gold and oil lower; concern with US economy and Euro issues

*Local: This morn NOL lower on poorer Q1 results
*Last week: sold Osim@1.73, F&N@6.25, and Smartone(#315) @13.0 on PP
*This week: sold SCMP #583 (1.98) on PP
*Monitoring:
(+) Sa Sa(#178), SJM(#880), Real Gold(#246); (-) NOL


09-05-2011 08:33:23

SINGAPORE, May 9 (Reuters) - Unprecedented opposition gains in Singapore's weekend election, despite the ruling party remaining firmly in power, may affect investors' sentiment on the Singapore stock exchange on Monday, though strong U.S. jobs data may still provide a boost.

Singapore-listed Cosco Corp may also be in the spotlight after reporting a 53 percent year-on-year rise in first quarter net profit, due to greater efficiencies and contribution from its shipbuilding and marine engineering projects.
--MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2356 GMT ---- INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1340.2 0.38% 5.100 USD/JPY 80.81 0.16% 0.130
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.1477 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 1493.43 -0.04% -0.620 US CRUDE 98.6 1.46% 1.420 DOW JONES 12638.74 0.43% 54.57 ASIA ADRS 139.94 0.83% 1.15 -------------------------------------------------------------
*Jobs report helps Wall St salvage sour week. Greece report sparks U.S. bond short covering . Euro posts worst week since January; prospects dim
* Silver rise ends five-day rout, gold up on US jobs. US crude up over $1, rebounds from record weekly fall
Stocks and factors to watch: -
- OLAM INTERNATIONAL - the commodities firm Olam said on Monday it plans to set up its own almond processing facility in Victoria, Australia, with a capacity to hull or shell as well as process 40,000 tonnes of almond kernels for up to A$55 million ($58.8 million).
- WILMAR INTERNATIONAL - said on Monday it had agreed with New Britain Palm Oil to supply continental Europe with palm oil, which will be available from Wilmar's refinery in Brake, Germany.
- SINGAPORE EXCHANGE - will offer rubber futures starting May 16, moving the contracts over from the Singapore Commodities Market platform to give it greater liquidity, the bourse operator announced on Friday.
- China Minzhong, a Singapore-listed Chinese vegetable producer, said on Monday its third quarter net profit rose 93 percent year-on-year to 261.1 million yuan ($40.2 million) on strong demand for vegetables.
- Straits Times Index fell 0.33 percent on Friday to 3,099.52 points.

07 May 2011 (
The Edge)

Whatever the outcome of the elections, however, investors ought not to lose sight of the micro fundamentals of individual companies. Indeed, with a slew of results of large cap companies like SingTel, Wilmar International, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Genting Singapore and Singapore Airlines scheduled for release in the week ahead, the market might not dwell on the issue of politics for much longer.

Friday, 06 May 2011 18:05 (
Bloomberg)

Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.3% to 3,099.52 at the close. The gauge dropped 2.5% this week, its worst weekly performance since the period ended March 18. About three stocks dropped for every two that rose in the benchmark index of 30 companies.

Shares on the measure trade at an average 14.2 times estimated earnings, compared with about 15.6 times at the end of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The following shares were among the most active in the market.

Transport companies: Shipping and airline companies gained as oil fell for a fifth day, heading for its biggest weekly decline since December 2008 after reports indicated economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe.
Neptune Orient Lines
(NOL SP), Southeast Asia’s biggest container carrier, advanced 1.7% to $1.84. Singapore Airlines (SIA SP), the world’s second-largest airline by market value, increased 2.6% to $14.38. Tiger Airways Holdings (TGR SP), the low-cost carrier partly owned by Singapore Air, gained 2.7% to $1.53.
China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. (CAO SP), the nation’s biggest supplier of jet fuel, rose 0.8% to $1.30. The company said first-quarter net income increased 67% from a year earlier to US$21.5 million ($26.6 million).

Hyflux (HYF SP), Singapore’s biggest water-treatment company, jumped 4% to $2.06. The company said first- quarter net income climbed 15% from a year earlier to $7.4 million.
Kim Eng Holdings (KEH SP), a Singapore-based brokerage, added 0.3% to $3.08. Malayan Banking (MAY MK), Malaysia’s biggest lender by assets, said it will offer $3.10 for the rest of Kim Eng that it doesn’t own. Maybank agreed in January to buy a 44.6% stake in Kim Eng from Taiwan’s Yuanta Securities Asia Financial Services and Kim Eng Chairman Ronald Ooi at the same price.
United Overseas Bank (UOB SP), Singapore’s third- largest lender by market value, fell 1.6% to $18.80. The bank reported first-quarter net profit was $612 million. That compares with $612.2 million average estimate by five analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

04-05-2011 08:37:46 (Reuters)
Singapore shares may see a weak start on Wednesday after Wall Street indices ended mostly lower overnight amid falling commodity prices and fears that U.S. corporate earnings will not live up to expectations.

Genting Singapore may be in focus after rival Las Vegas Sands Corp reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit at its casino-resort in the city-state, Marina Bay Sands, sending shares of the company down 10 percent.

MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 0004 GMT ------------ INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 <.SPX> 1356.62 -0.34% -4.600 DOW JONES <.DJI> 12807.51 0.00% 0.15

USD/JPY 81.02 0.09% 0.070 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.2529 -- 0.002

SPOT GOLD 1536.25 -0.27% -4.130 US CRUDE 110.84 -0.19% -0.210

ASIA ADRS <.BKAS>; 141.44 -1.04% -1.49 -------------------------------------------------------------

* Wall St falls as earnings fears threaten rally [.N]; Bonds gain on safety buying, supply expectations [US/]; Euro flat but trend still positive despite Portugal [USD/] * Silver slides again on margin hike, gold falls [GOL/] *Oil falls as India, dollar spark sell-off

Stocks and factors to watch: -

- NEPTUNE ORIENT LINES - the world's seventh largest container shipping firm, said on Tuesday it carried 12 percent more cargo in the four weeks to April 8 from a year ago, helped by higher traffic on intra-Asia and Asia-Europe routes.

- WING TAI HOLDINGS - said its third quarter net profit more than doubled to S$59.5 million from S$23.2 million a year ago, helped by higher sales from its residential units.

- PACIFIC ANDES RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT - the frozen fish supplier said on Tuesday it has applied to the Taiwan stock exchange and the central bank to issue Taiwan depository receipts (TDR). It expects to issue about 228 to 285 million TDRs at T$18 each.

- YAMADA GREEN RESOURCES - said its net profit rose 17.6 percent in the first quarter to 63.1 million yuan ($9,712,352.000)compared to the year-ago period, helped by higher orders for processed food products and mushrooms.

- HI-P INTERNATIONAL - said it swung to a net profit of S$17.9 million in the first quarter, compared to a loss of S$14.2 million a year ago, due to higher sales from projects.

- Straits Times Index fell 0.83 percent to 3,153.57 points on Tuesday.

- The Dow Jones industrial average; was largely flat at 12,807.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index; dipped 0.34 percent at 1,356.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.78 percent at 2,841.62.

May 1 (Mon) - Labor Day Holiday