Good morning moomooers! Here are things you need to know about today's Singapore:

• Singapore stocks fall at Friday's open; STI down 0.5%

• Hyflux subsidiary disputes alleged termination of Algerian O&M contract

• Stocks to watch: Singtel, Golden Agri, IReit Global, ComfortDelGro, Sakae, AusGroup, Top Glove, Hatten Land

-Moomoo News SG

Market Trend

Singapore shares pulled back at Friday's open as trading resumed after a public holiday, with investors cautious amid a rise in community cases and Covid-19 clusters in the Republic this week.

$FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ slipped 0.5 per cent or 15.09 points to 3,108.17 as at 9.03am. Losers outnumbered gainers 107 to 68, after 98.5 million securities worth S$169.3 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was $Sembcorp Marine(S51.SG)$, which dropped 1.1 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent to 18.9 cents, with 8.2 million shares changing hands.

Breaking News

Hyflux subsidiary disputes alleged termination of Algerian O&M contract

Hyflux's wholly-owned subsidiary is disputing the legitimacy of the contract termination by Tahlyat Myah Magtaa (TMM), the project owner of Hyflux's Magtaa seawater desalination plant in Algeria.

The subsidiary, Hyflux Operation & Maintenance Algeria (HOMA), on April 20 received a notice which allegedly terminates the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for the Magtaa desalination plant.

HOMA is seeking to engage with TMM to resolve the matter, Hyflux's judicial managers from Borrelli Walsh said in a regulatory update on Wednesday.

Stocks to watch

$Singtel(Z74.SG)$: Singapore's largest telco is expecting to report S$839 million and S$1.21 billion in net exceptional losses for the second half and financial year ended March 31, 2021. In a filing on Friday, Singtel also said it has embarked on a strategic review to consider options for Amobee as well as the group's cybersecurity businesses including Trustwave Holdings. Shares of Singtel last closed S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent lower at S$2.41 on Wednesday.

$Golden Agri-Res(E5H.SG)$: The group swung back into the black with a net profit of US$41 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared with a net loss of US$95 million the previous year. This is due to the 24 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to US$2.05 billion on the continued appreciation of crude palm oil market prices. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation more than doubled. Shares of Golden Agri ended Wednesday at 27.5 Singapore cents, up 1.5 cents or 5.8 per cent.

$IREIT Global(UD1U.SG)$: The real estate investment trust (Reit) on Wednesday announced a portfolio occupancy of 95.9 per cent for the first quarter ended March 31, noting that it is expecting a significant reduction in commercial real-estate letting and investment activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The weighted average lease expiry of the Reit for the latest quarter stands at 3.4 years. Units of IReit Global closed at 64.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday, up half a cent or 0.8 per cent.

$ComfortDelGro(C52.SG)$: The transport operator is exploring options to unlock the value of its Australian assets, potentially through a partial sale of assets or an initial public offering. The Australian market is the group's single largest overseas investment destination. For the year ended Dec 31, 2020, it was the best-performing overseas market and it contributed 19.7 per cent of total revenue in Q1 FY21. The counter closed flat at S$1.63 on Wednesday.

$Sakae(5DO.SG)$: Reviews of the restaurant operator's auditing practices uncovered erroneous accounting entries and internal control weaknesses. The company's independent auditor could not obtain appropriate audit evidence and certain information related to the loss of control of Sakae's subsidiary Cocosa Export. Sakae said in a regulatory update on Wednesday that the auditors' reports indicate no sign of "fraudulent or dishonest impropriety" but acknowledged that internal control processes can be further improved. Shares of Sakae last traded on April 6 at 14.4 Singapore cents.

$AusGroup(5GJ.SG)$: The Australian construction engineering company on Wednesday posted a net profit of A$102,000 (S$105,800) for the third quarter ended March 31, reversing a loss of A$3.2 million from the previous year. Revenue was down 23.3 per cent to A$50.7 million from A$66.7 million, on the slower-than-expected recovery from the impact of Covid-19. Shares of AusGroup ended Wednesday flat at 2.7 Singapore cents.

$Top Glove(BVA.SG)$: A shipment of 4.68 million latex gloves, estimated to be worth US$690,000, were seized from the glove manufacturer, on indications that the gloves were made by forced labour, the US Customs and Border Protection said on Wednesday. Earlier in May, the US Customs had seized another shipment of gloves worth US$518,000. Shares of Top Glove closed up 1.8 per cent at S$1.70 on Wednesday.

$Hatten Land(PH0.SG)$: The property developer's net loss widened to RM37.2 million (S$12 million)for the three months to March 31, from RM32.3 million in the previous year. Revenue rose to RM14.7 million from RM7.2 million in the same period last year due to higher sales for completed projects. Shares of Hatten Land were down 0.1 Singapore cent or 3.5 per cent to 2.8 cents on Wednesday.

$APAC Realty(CLN.SG)$: The holder of ERA franchise rights in 17 Asia-Pacific countries saw net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 more than double year on year to S$7.5 million, owing to revenue gains from an increase in transaction volumes in the new-home and resale segments amid strong global liquidity and a low-interest-rate environment. Revenue was up 70 per cent to S$153.1 million, led by an increase in new home revenue. Shares of APAC Realty ended Wednesday at S$0.49, up S$0.01 or 2.1 per cent.

$OKP(5CF.SG)$: Its subsidiary Or Kim Peow Contractors has been fined S$1 million over a 2017accident involving a Pan-Island Expressway viaduct collapse. Two employees were sentenced to imprisonment for failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of workers. The counter closed flat at 18.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday.

$Geo Energy Res(RE4.SG)$: The coal miner on Wednesday reported a 9.2 per cent dip in its first-quarter net profit to US$28.5 million from US$31.4 million in the first quarter last year, but added that the higher net profit in Q1 FY2020 came from gains arising from the repurchases of senior notes. It declared an interim dividend of 0.5 Singapore cent for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. No dividend was declared for the same period last year. Shares of Geo Energy ended Wednesday at 23 Singapore cents, up 1.5 Singapore cents or 6.7 per cent.

$Sunpower(5GD.SG)$: The provider of energy-saving and clean power solutions on Wednesday reported profit after tax attributable to shareholders of 85.2 million yuan(S$17.6 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, a 60.9 per cent decline on the year, mainly due to fair value changes of the group's convertible bonds and warrants. Otherwise, attributable profit would have been 59.7 million yuan, a 17 per cent increase. Shares of Sunpower closed up 2.4 per cent or S$0.02 at S$0.85 on Wednesday, before the announcement.

$Frencken(E28.SG)$: The technology solutions provider Frencken Group on Wednesday posted a first-quarter net profit of S$14.7 million, up 54.7 per cent from S$9.5 million a year earlier, led by improved sales from its semiconductor segment. The 19.9 per cent improvement in revenue to S$181.5 million from S$151.4 million last year was driven by contributions from the core mechatronics division. Shares of Frencken ended Wednesday at S$1.42, up S$0.07 or 5.2 per cent.

$LHN(41O.SG)$: The real estate management services group posted a net profit of S$14.8 million for the half-year ended March 31, 2021, from S$3.2 million the year before. Gross profit jumped 60.5 per cent to S$35.2 million. At the height of the Covid-19 outbreak among migrant workers last year, LHN secured contracts to convert spaces into workers' dormitories and to manage them. The counter closed at S$0.33 on Wednesday, down S$0.02 or 5.71 per cent.

Trading Halt: $Hai Leck(BLH.SG)$ called for a trading halt on Friday morning in preparation for the release of an announcement. Its shares traded flat at S$0.59 on Wednesday.