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

• Singapore stocks open higher on Friday morning; STI up 0.44%
  

• Singapore Stocks Paralleled GDP Strengths in 1Q21

• Stocks to watch: Econ Healthcare, SATS, Boustead, Lendlease Reit, SIA

-Moomoo News SG

Market Trend

Singapore stocks open higher on Friday morning following shares on Wall Street gained overnight following the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. labor market data.

$FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ climbed 0.44 per cent or 13.96 points to 3178.78 as at 9.05 am. Losers/gainers is 127/ 42, after 150.85 million securities worth S$311.67 million changed hands.

Breaking News

Singapore Stocks Paralleled GDP Strengths in 1Q21

• Singapore's economy expanded 1.3% YoY in 1Q21, a reversal from the 2.4% YoY contraction in 4Q20. Key drivers of the 1Q21 GDP growth were manufacturing, finance & insurance and wholesale trade sectors, with 11% YoY manufacturing growth and the wholesale trade segment bolstered by a 7% YoY increase in foreign wholesale trade sales volume.
  

• Strength in the manufacturing, finance & insurance and wholesale trade sectors was also observed in relevant Singapore-listed stocks. Singapore’s 20 most traded manufacturing-related stocks averaged 14% gains in 1Q21, while bank stocks lead global stock markets in 1Q21, and multiple trade and logistic related stocks reported resilient 1Q21 earnings.
  

• MTI maintains a GDP growth forecast for Singapore in 2021 at 4.0% to 6.0%. In 1Q21, Singapore’s 100 most traded stocks by turnover averaged 16% total returns. In the 2Q21 to 24 May, the returns have been comparatively muted, with a 2% average total return.  Half of the 10 strongest stocks in 2Q21 to 24 May, have been manufacturing-related.  

Stocks to watch

$Econ Healthcare(EHG.SG)$: The private nursing home operator on Friday posted a 41.2 per cent rise in full-year net profit. This came as the group saw a rise in operating subvention grants and other income, partially offset by a drop in revenue. Shares of Catalist-listed Econ Healthcare closed at 35.5 Singapore cents on Thursday, up 7.6 per cent or 2.5 cents, before the results were released.

$SATS(S58.SG)$: The ground-handler and in-flight caterer on Thursday reported its first net profit in five quarters, recording net earnings of S$8000,000 for the fourth quarter ended March 31, from a net loss of S$6.3 million a year ago. The recovery was due to year-on-year revenue growth from non-travel-related businesses and a smaller cost base. The group was in the red for the full year. Shares of SATS ended Thursday 2.9 per cent or S$0.11 higher at S$3.86, before the announcement.

$Boustead(F9D.SG)$: The mainboard-listed group's second-half net profit has more than quadrupled to S$91.3 million from S$18.5 million the previous year, largely due to its real estate division's successful launch of the Boustead Industrial Fund, it said on Thursday. Revenue for the second half fell 9 per cent year on year to S$396 million. Full-year net profit was more than three times higher. Before the release of the results, shares of Boustead ended at S$1.08 on Thursday, down S$0.05 or 4.4 per cent.

$Lendlease Reit(JYEU.SG)$: The global commercial real estate investment trust (Reit) has issued S$200 million in perpetual securities at 4.20 per cent per annum, for the financing of potential investment opportunities among several other uses, its manager said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The perpetual securities were oversubscribed based on the initial target size of S$150 million. The Reit raised the issuance size and tightened the price from the initial guidance of 4.35 per cent. Units of Lendlease Global Reit closed up 0.7 per cent or 0.5 Singapore cent at 76 cents on Thursday.

$SIA(C6L.SG)$: The flag carrier was questioned by Securities Investors Association (Singapore) about whether it has considered or intended privatisation, following SIA's announcement of the issuance of mandatory convertible bonds (MCBs) to raise a further S$6.2 billion. It was quizzed about how it would balance or align business and shareholder interests, the reasons behind the second tranche of MCBs, and the possibility of further fundraising. SIA shares were trading at S$4.96, 2.1 per cent or S$0.10 higher when the market closed on Thursday.