Singapore Shares End Higher On Easing Iraq War Fears

sg.biz.yahoo.com Monday March 3, 5:19 PM

With Turkey's parliament rejecting a proposal to admit U.S. troops into the country as part of a possible war with Iraq, and Iraq destroying some of its missiles, the possibility of a war in the near term has been reduced, traders said.

The Straits Times index added 5.35 points, or 0.4%, to 1279.20, off an intraday high of 1291.75.

Gainers outnumbered losers 129 to 82, while 356 stocks were unchanged or untraded. Volume fell to 228.6 million shares from 246 million shares Friday.

CapitaLand was among the big gainers as Singapore's biggest property developer by assets said it expects its overseas operations to contribute to over 50% of earnings this year, from 45% last year - with China underpinning that rise.

CapitaLand shares ended up 2.9%, or S$0.03, at S$1.06 (US$1=S$1.7372).

Neptune Orient Line shares gained 1.7%, or S$0.015, to S$0.905, after its U.S.-based oil transporting unit, American Eagle Tankers, said it has received a US$220-million contract to transport fuel from Venezuela to Asia.