Singapore stocks end up 0.4 pct

Singapore, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Singapore shares closed 0.4 percent higher on Monday, as surprise rebound in Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in February boosted market sentiment.

Singapore's NODX swung back 4.9 percent growth last month against market expectation of a 1.6 percent drop and 10.1 percent slide in January. The performance was buoyed by a jump in non-electronic shipments which offset the decline in electronics exports.

Maybank-Kim Eng Research said "technically, the Strait Times Index is trading between underlying support at 3,150 points and upside resistance at 3,270 points."

Singapore benchmark Strait Times Index rose 12.78 points to 3,212.96 points. Trading volume was 815 million shares worth 775 million Singapore dollars. Advancers and decliners were the same at 198.

Fabchem China closed flat at 15.8 Singapore cents. The management consultancy firm Triple Vision has acquired a 29.9 percent stake in Fabchem China, taking its total holding to 39.55 percent, and triggering a mandatory general offer at 15.8 Singapore cents per share.

SembCorp Industries rose 1.2 percent to 2.55 Singapore dollars. It officially opened its 310 million U.S. dollar SembCorp Myingyan independent power plant in Mandalay, Myanmar under a private-public partnership model. The facility is the largest and most efficient combined-cycle gas turbine plant in Myanmar with integrated solar power generation, and will help plug the power needs of 5.3 million people.

Among top gainers, Venture Corporation rose 1.2 percent to 18 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 0.6 percent to 33.20 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.35 Singapore dollars)