Singapore stocks end down 0.75%

Singapore shares closed 0.75 percent lower on Tuesday, as investors booked profits from recent strong rallies amid worries that a potential political shake-up could disrupt the Euro-zone's efforts to resolve its debt crisis. Spain's opposition party on Sunday called for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign over a corruption scandal, an allegation Rajoy denies, pushing Spanish 10-year bond yields to six-week highs. In Italy, 10-year Italian government bond yields also hit their highest since late December, as chances of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi regaining power raised worries about Rome's ability to fix its fiscal problems. OCBC Investment Research said "the market is looking for an excuse to take profit after recent gains. As we are entering the Chinese New Year, we do not expect a sharp pull back except if corporate earnings disappoint." DBS Group Research said for Singapore, the focus continues to be on the earnings season. The research house added that 3,260 point should provide near-term support for Straits Times Index on pullback. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 24.71 points to 3,272.66 points. Trading volume was 3.57 billion shares worth 1.48 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 364 to 131, while 467 stocks did not move. Wing Tai Holdings rose 1.8 percent to 1.94 Singapore dollars. The retail and property firm said its second-quarter net profit jumped 159 percent to 88.7 million Singapore dollars compared to a year earlier, helped by stronger revenues from residential properties. United Envirotech gained 3.9 percent to 67 Singapore cents. The water treatment and recycling company reported a surge in third- quarter net profit to 8.5 million Singapore dollars, 4.5 times the quarterly net profit a year earlier, boosted by higher engineering and treatment revenues. Among top gainers, Dairy Farm International rose 2.4 percent to 12.90 US dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 3.2 percent to 61.57 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.23 Singapore dollars)