Singapore Stocks-Edge up by midday China,Greece fears cap gains

 

* Index up 0.1 pct, 3,040 pts support eyed

* CapitaLand extends loss on China concerns

* Keppel Corp falls despite recent contract wins

* K1 Ventures up on investment in Guggenheim Capital

By Eveline Danubrata

SINGAPORE, June 14 (Reuters) - Singapore shares were slightly up on Tuesday as investors refrained from taking more risk on concerns that China is facing both an economic slowdown and rising inflation, on top of worries about a possible debt default by Greece.

By the lunch break, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.07 percent, or 2.03 points, at 3,061.07. The total value of shares traded in the morning session was S$609.6 million, slightly lower than S$658.7 million on Monday.

Local traders said the support for the STI in the afternoon may be around 3,040 points.

Singapore's CapitaLand , Southeast Asia's largest property developer, extended its loss from the previous trading session on worries about easing demand for homes in China. At midday, the stock retreated 0.7 percent at S$2.89 with 10.5 million shares changing hands.

" Everyone was putting their hopes on China and with all these unfavourable data points coming out of China it's going to mean more downside risk for equities," said Andrew Chow, head of research at UOB Kay Hian in Singapore.

" People have been de-risking recently and all these point to them continuing to de-risk," added. " Another big problem is the accounting issue in China...People are also getting worried because they are seeing a bit of signs of social unrest."

China's inflation accelerated in May to a 34-month high of 5.5 percent, supporting the case for a tightening in monetary policy as soon as this month even as there are signs that economic growth is slowing down.

Shares of Singapore's Keppel Corp , the world's largest oil rig builder, fell although it recently won a $260 million contract from Floatel International and a $142 million order from Seadrill.

At midday, Keppel stock was down 1.8 percent at S$10.86 on a volume of 5.4 million shares. Nevertheless, the shares have risen more than 5 percent so far this year.

" If you look at the run-up in share price over the last 6-12 months for Keppel, the returns are actually quite good so people might have already discounted the good order flow," said Kay Lim, an analyst at DnB NOR Markets.

" The available slots at Keppel yards are also getting tighter so going forward, in the second half, the order momentum is expected to ease," he said, adding that the general market weakness might have also affected the share price.

However, Singapore investment firm k1 Ventures outperformed the broader market after the company announced it had invested $100 million in U.S.-based Guggenheim Capital through the purchase of preferred units and warrants.

 

At midday, k1 Ventures stock was 3.7 percent higher at S$0.14 with 869,000 shares changing hands. The stock had risen as much as 7.4 percent earlier in the session. (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata)