Asian Stocks Gain First Time in Three Days on Utilities

Singapore shares rise for the first time in a week: Reuters

Singapore shares rose on Tuesday for the first time in a week, in line with regional peers, though the U.S. government shutdown, now in its second week, weighed on the market and kept investors on tenterhooks.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,147.62 points, in line with a 0.2 percent gain in MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. ...

" Our view that STI at 3,100 offers bargain-hunt opportunities on the presumption that US does not go into default stays valid," said analysts at DBS Vickers Securities.

The top two performers on the index included Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd, whose shares rose over 3 percent, and Global Logistic Properties Ltd, which gained more than 2 percent.

Blumont Group Ltd shares, which tumbled 85 percent after the Singapore Exchange lifted a trading suspension on Monday, jumped 62 percent to S$0.21, after the company named a new chairman.

Steel trader and manufacturer Albedo Ltd rose 40 percent to S$0.042, after the company announced more details on a S$774 million takeover by a company controlled by Malaysian businessman Danny Tan in a deal that will see Albedo join international property developers buying up land in Malaysia's Iskandar region.

China services industry growth slows in Sept- HSBC PMI: Reuters

Growth in China's services industry slowed in September and optimism over the business outlook weakened, a private survey showed on Tuesday, indicating that the nascent recovery in the world's No.2 economy is likely to remain a slow one.

The Markit/HSBC services PMI for September dipped to 52.4 from August's 52.8, still well above the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction. A rise in new business offset a decline in new orders, the survey said. ...

The reading is in contrast to China's official services PMI, released last week, which showed the sector expanded at the fastest pace in six months in September as demand grew. The official PMI rose to 55.4 in September from August's 53.9.

The two surveys differ in that the official one is more weighted towards bigger and state-owned firms while the Markit/HSBC one looks more at smaller private firms, pointing to the possibility of a two-tier recovery.

The services industry, which has so far weathered the global
slowdown much better than the factory sector, is an increasingly
important pillar in China's economy, especially as the government seeks to expand domestic consumption to drive growth.

Services accounted for about 45 percent of the economy in 2012 and is the biggest employer in China.

The survey showed that business expectations weakened over the month, with respondents citing muted client demand.

China has unveiled plans to open up its largely sheltered services sector to foreign competition and to test financial reforms in a new free trade zone in Shanghai.

Tuesday's survey followed a pair of PMIs which showed slower-than-expected expansion in activity China's factory sector in September.

The official manufacturing PMI edged up to 51.1 from 51.0 in August, while the final Markit/HSBC PMI inched up to 50.2 from August's 50.1.

NEWS HEADLINES

- US stocks declined on Mon, with the S& P 500 index closing at a four-week low, as a stalemate on Capitol Hill over preventing a government default persisted.

- Boustead Singapore said that the value of contracts secured by the group since Apr has topped the S$300m mark, surpassing that for the whole of the preceding financial year....

- Phospate miner AsiaPhos' shares closed 58% above its offer price of 25 S cents in its trading debut yesterday, making it the best performing IPO so far this year in percentage terms.

- Climate Holding, a special purpose vehicle in which its shareholders have a collective 43% control of Devotion Energy Group, is seeking voluntary delisting of the company.

- Catalist-listed Albedo yesterday disclosed additional information on its proposed S$774.14m reverse takeover deal - first announced about two weeks ago.

- ICP Ltd announced that it would be selling its factory building and leasehold land at 5 Loyang Drive to Chang Hua Construction Pte Ltd for S$11.8m.

SE Asian Stocks to Watch: Blumont, Asiasons, LionGold, Inari

MSCI South East Asia Index fell 0.3%
yesterday, extending YTD decline to 4.3%. 12 stks trade ex-div.,
for full list click here....

Singapore
* Blumont Group (BLUM SP): To hold press conference at 2pm
after shrs plummeted by record 85% yesterday stk?s 3-day
95% drop has erased S$5.83b of co.?s mkt value Alex
Molyneux buys 5.2% interest in Blumont, named Chairman co.
to make loan facility of up to $8m to Cokal
* Asiasons (ACAP SP): Tumbled by record 86% yesterday
* LionGold (LIGO SP): Dropped by record 71% has till Nov. 1
to make offer for Minera
* Boustead Singapore (BOCS SP): Unit gets S$38m contracts
* Genting H.K. (GENHK SP): Enters 707.2m Euro shipbuilding
contract
* Global Logistic (GLP SP): Leases 17,000 sq. meters to a
sporting co. in Tokyo
* ICP (ICP SP): Requests lifting of trading halt
* Mencast (MCAST SP): Unit gets 3-yr contract from Shell
Refining
* Mirach (MENR SP): Not aware of reasons for drop in shrs
shrs fell 28% yday
* Otto Marine (OTML SP): Sale of all interest in Otto Limin
Marine Private
* Sunmoon Food (SMOON SP): Chairman steps down
* Superbowl (BOWL SP): Seeks to lift trading halt in
Singapore Hiap Hoe (HIAP SP) to offer S$0.75/Superbowl shr
in cash
* United Envirotech (UENV SP): Issues S$15m, 7.25% fixed rate
notes due 2016
* Highest short sales as a percentage of turnover yday (mkt
cap > S$500m) Golden Agri-Resources (GGR SP) (58%), Fortune
Real Estate Investment (FRT SP) (50%), SATS Ltd (SATS SP)
(50%)