Singapore Hot Stocks-SGX, newcomer Joyas in focus

SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Bourse operator Singapore Exchange (SGXL.SI) may be in focus on Thursday after BNP Paribas slashed its share target price to S$5.70 from S$8.10.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as optimism receded about the Federal Reserve's latest initiative to ease credit market strains, while a jump in oil prices to a record above $110 a barrel raised fears of further strains on corporate profits.

Joyas International (JIHL.SI), a metal jewellery manufacturer, debuts on Thursday at an initial public offering price of S$0.29.

Stocks and factors to watch:

- BNP Paribas has cut the share target price for Singapore Exchange to S$5.70 from S$8.10, and maintained its "reduce" rating on the stock, citing volatile capital markets and declining trading value. [ID:nSGC001826]

- Joyas International, a Hong Kong-based metal jewellery manufacturer, begins trade at 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) after fetching an initial public offering price of S$0.29 a share, which is approximately 1.14 times subscribed. [ID:nSN3C51531]

- Singapore shipyard ASL Marine (ASLM.SI) said it has won three shipbuilding contracts worth S$126 million ($91.1 million). [ID:nSGC001825]

- Property firm Centraland (CTLL.SI) said it would buy two sites in Zhengzhou City, China for a total of 1.2 billion yuan ($168.9 million). [ID:nSIN141630]

- Industrial property owner Ascendas said it would buy out Goodman Group's (GMG.AX) share of Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (AEMN.SI) (A-REIT) for S$158.16 million ($114.1 million), ending the joint venture between the two firms. [ID:nSIN299908]

- Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index .FTSTI rose 2.0 percent to 2,917.94 points on Wednesday.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.38 percent to 12,110.24 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 0.53 percent to 2,243.87 points. (Reporting by Tan Wei Xin; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)