Singapore Hot Stocks-Comfort DelGro, SMRT in focus

SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Transport firms Comfort
DelGro (CMDG.SI) and SMRT (SMRT.SI) may be in focus on Friday
on news that both companies are being added to the benchmark
Straits Times Index .FTSTI. Property companies Yanlord Land
(YNLG.SI) and Keppel Land (KLAN.SI) are being removed from the
index.

U.S. stocks rose for a third day on Thursday on relief that
a ratings cut for General Electric (GE.N) by S&P was just one
notch and that no further cuts loomed, while retail sales data
showed some stabilisation in consumer spending.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 0029 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 750.74 4.07% 29.380
USD/JPY JPY= 97.2 -0.44% -0.430
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.8535 -- -0.011
SPOT GOLD XAU= 923.15 -0.38% -3.500
US CRUDE CLc1 46.64 -0.83% -0.390
DOW JONES .DJI 7170.06 3.46% 239.66
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 80.99 1.43% 1.14
------------------------------------------------------------- >
Wall St jumps on GE rating outlook, spending data [.N] >
Dollar, euro soar vs Swiss franc; SNB intervenes [USD/] >
Bonds rise on 30Y sale; stock rally caps gains [US/] >
Gold rises as SNB currency sale spooks market [GOL/] >
Oil jumps 11 pct on US retail sales data, OPEC [O/R]

Stocks and factors to watch:

-- COMFORT DELGRO (CMDG.SI), SMRT (SMRT.SI)

- Singapore Exchange said on Thursday it will add transport
firms Comfort DelGro and SMRT to its benchmark Straits Times
Index and remove property counters Yanlord Land (YNLG.SI) and
Keppel Land (KLAN.SI). [ID:nSP397892]

-- SINGAPORE TELECOMMINUCATIONS (STEL.SI)

- Shares of Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), in which Singapore
Telecommunications owns more than 30 percent stake, fell more
than 6 percent on Thursday after the Indian telecom firm's
chief executive sold his stake in the company. [ID:nDEL293967]

-- SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS (SPRM.SI)

- Singapore Press Holdings said it had cut pay for 3,000
staff and this, together with reduction in profit-related
bonuses, would translate into an estimated 20 percent reduction
in staff cost. [ID:nSN3C60911]

-- BEAUTY CHINA (BCHI.SI)

- Cosmetics company Beauty China said it received a
statutory demand from lenders for the repayment of a loan
amounting to approximately HK$134 million by 27 March 2009.
[ID:nSN3C61401]

-- KEPPEL LAND (KLAN.SI)

- Keppel Land denied a China Knowledge Press report saying
it was involved in 10 projects in Tianjin city, worth RMB 11.2
billion.

- Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index .FTSTI fell
0.8 percent to 1,493.53 points on Thursday.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 3.46 percent
to 7,170.06 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up
by 3.97 percent to 1,426.10 points.
($1=1.512 Singapore Dollar)
(Reporting by Kash Cheong; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)