SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Sembcorp Marine (SCMN.SI)
will be in investors' focus on Wednesday after the oil rig
builder reported a sharp increase in quarterly profit after
foreign currency losses almost wiped out profits a year ago.
Financials may also be in focus after U.S. stocks rose more
than 3 percent on Tuesday to snap back from 12-year lows, after
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that
nationalisation of big banks was not at hand.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 0010 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P
500 .SPX 773.14 4.01% 29.810
USD/JPY JPY= 96.61 -0.04% -0.040
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.815 -- 0.015
SPOT GOLD XAU= 960.65 -0.19% -1.800
US CRUDE CLc1 39.89 -0.18% -0.070
DOW JONES .DJI 7350.94 3.32% 236.16
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 82.03 5.05% 3.94
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Bernanke spurs Wall St rebound as banking fears ease [.N]
> US dollar jumps versus yen as risk aversion mounts [USD/]
> Bonds down as rallying stocks erase safety bid [US/]
> Gold ends 2 pct down on Bernanke, options expiry [GOL/]
> Oil jumps on stock market bounce, OPEC compliance [O/R]
Stocks and factors to watch:
-- SEMBCORP MARINE (SCMN.SI)
-Sembcorp Marine, the world's number two builder of
offshore oil rigs, said on Tuesday its fourth quarter net
profit of S$69.4 million for ($45.5 million) the three months
ended Dec 31 2008, was sharply higher from a year ago when
foreign currency losses almost wiped out
profits.[ID:nSGC001033]
-- CHINA HONGXING (CHXS.SI)
- Small caps tumbled in panic selling on Tuesday as market
rumours of margin calls and accounting issues made the rounds
hurting confidence, said the Business Times. Sports apparel
company China Hongxing fell as much as 34.5 percent before
closing at 11.5 cents. Fibrechem (FIBR.SI) and China Zaino
(CNZN.SI) were also affected by margin call rumours.
-- UOL GROUP (UTOS.SI)
- Property group UOL said its attributable profit fell 81
percent for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2008 as it wrote
down a development project and sustained a revaluation loss on
investment properties. [ID:nSN2O10691]
-- YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING (YAZG.SI)
- Shipbuilding firm Yangzijiang reported a 25 percent
increase in net profit for its three months ended Dec 31,2008
due effective cost control measures, a rise in interest income
and foreign exchange gains.[ID:nSN2O30052]
-- SC GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS (SCGO.SI)
- Property group SC Global reported a 46 percent fall in
net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2008, due to a
loss in its Australian unit amid the challenging property
market.
- Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index .FTSTI fell
1.0 percent to 1,614.44 points on Tuesday.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 3.32 percent
to 7,350.94 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up
by 3.90 percent to 1,441.83 points.
(Reporting by Kash Cheong; Editing by Jan Dahinten)
