S'pore shares end little changed, SingTel active
\nJoyce Liu
\nReuters
\nSINGAPORE<\/p>\n
Singapore shares failed to hold in positive territory on
\nTuesday as worried investors rushed to dump shares after short-
\nlived gains, with volume skewed by a massive block trade in
\nSingapore Telecommunications.<\/p>\n
"The market could be volatile from now on but the uncertainty
\nabout the future will keep a cap on any gains," said a trader at
\na European brokerage.<\/p>\n
After jumping more than 2 percent at one stage, the benchmark
\nStraits Times Index ended down 0.25 percent at 1,281.52 points on
\nconcerns about U.S. military action after the Sept.11 attacks and
\nthe worsening economy at home.<\/p>\n
The STI, which gained 3.5 percent on Monday, has lost 18
\npercent since the attacks in New York and Washington and more
\nthan 33 percent so far this year.<\/p>\n
Turnover was a record two billion shares, against Monday's 405
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
SingTel, which recently completed its acquisition of C&W Optus
\nin Australia, saw a block of 781 million shares crossed at S$1.64
\non Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Another 575 million of SingTel 100 and 301 million of SingTel
\n10 crossed at the same price.<\/p>\n
The block was believed to belong to Britain's Cable & Wireless
\nPlc, which said in June it agreed to sell up to 848.7 million
\nSingTel shares it would get for its stake in Optus.<\/p>\n
Merrill Lynch said on Tuesday it sold a block of 835 million
\nSingTel shares for a total of $782 million but declined to
\ndiscuss their origin or the identity of the buyer.<\/p>\n
No one at SingTel was available to comment.<\/p>\n
SingTel ended one cent higher at S$1.74 on volume of 792
\nmillion shares.<\/p>\n
Overall momentum was initially helped after bullish comments
\nfrom top strategists lifted the Dow Jones industrial average to
\nits fifth-biggest point gain.<\/p>\n
The Dow rose 4.47 percent or 368.05 points to 8,603.86 in its
\nfirst bounce since the attacks. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped
\n5.35 percent to 1,499.40 after plummeting 16 percent last week.<\/p>\n
Singapore posted blazing 9.9 percent growth last year.<\/p>\n
The government also said it was working on more substantial
\noff-budget measures than the S$2.2 billion ($1.26 billion)
\npackage announced in July and would unveil details in mid-
\nOctober.<\/p>",
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