STI 3,220 -1 -0.04% DOW 13,712 +62 +0.46% S&P 1,493 +7 +0.47% FTSE 6,179 -2 -0.03% DAX 7,696 -53 -0.68% GOLD 1,694 +0 +0.05% OIL 96.15 +0.66 +0.69% PRE-HK OPEN +81pts CREDIT SUISSE GLOBAL RISK APPETITE (EQUITY): 2.32 (21 Jan 2013) CREDIT SUISSE GLOBAL RISK APPETITE : 3.86 (21 Jan 2013) 23 Jan 2013 08:52 DJ MARKET TALK: Singapore Shares Likely In 3200-3235 Range - SIAS 0052 GMT [Dow Jones] After some mild leads from Wall Street, Singapore shares may be in for some tepid trading as investors await stronger signals from upcoming corporate earnings announcements. The STI ended almost flat Tuesday, down 1.46 points at 3219.86. "The decline in Nikkei and muted action on Wall Street is likely to put strain on the STI index this morning," says SIAS Research; "in the coming session, we expect the index to remain rangebound, with resistance established at 3235 and support at 3200." Earnings results could shape trading, after Singapore Exchange (S68.SG) said 2Q net profit rose 16.7% to S$76.3 million ahead of a healthy IPO pipeline for 2013. Improved results could lift a couple of REITs; Mapletree Industrial Trust (ME8U.SG) said its 3Q DPU rose 7.4% on year, while CapitaCommercial Trust (C61U.SG) raised its 4Q DPU by 6.8% on year.

U.S. stocks gained ground Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at fresh five-year highs amid mostly strong earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.4% and S&P 500 rose 0.5%, advancing once again to their highest levels since December 2007. The two indexes have been hitting new highs since the start of the year.

Travelers (TRV, Fortune 500) was among the best performers on the Dow, with shares rising more than 2% after the company's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates. Shares of DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) also rose sharply after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and issued an upbeat outlook, helping boost the blue chip index.

Western Digital (WDC, Fortune 500) was a big winner in the S&P 500. The data storage provider, which is slated to report earnings Wednesday, said it is expanding its products to to address the small and medium-sized business market.

The Nasdaq edged up 0.3%, fueled by an 13% jump in shares of Research in Motion (RIMM). The BlackBerry maker's stock has been gaining on the hype surrounding the launch of BlackBerry 10 later this month.

Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) was also a big gainer on the tech-heavy index following reports that Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) was in talks with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Dell CEO Michael Dell to invest between $1 billion to $3 billion in the buyout of the PC maker, citing sources close to the matter.

On the downside, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) shares edged lower after the company reported earnings and sales that were roughly in line with estimates

Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) reported a wider quarterly loss ahead of the open, but shares gained ground. Wireless carriers are expected to have a rough quarter as profit margins get dinged by high subsidies paid to Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) for the iPhone 5.

After the closing bell, shares of IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) climbed after the company topped fourth-quarter earnings and sales expectations and also issued a better-than-expected outlook for 2013.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) shares also rose in after-hours trading after the company delivered earnings and revenue that exceeded forecasts.

Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 3.8% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P's Capital IQ.

Earlier in the day, stocks wavered as investors focused on mixed housing data. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales surprisingly declined in December to an annual rate of 4.94 million from the previous month. Despite the month-over-month decline however, overall existing home sales in 2012 were the highest for the U.S. real estate market in five years, according to the industry trade group.

Related: Fear & Greed Index steeped in extreme greed

European markets and Asian markets ended mixed.

Japan's Nikkei ended narrowly weaker and the yen firmed slightly against the dollar after theBank of Japan raised its inflation target and announced unlimited government bond purchases from next year. The move was widely expected and some analysts said the bank could have been even more ambitious in its bid to stimulate growth.

"Today's announcements do represent a significant step forward from the BoJ," analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients. "Even if they are not necessarily the seismic shift in policy that the economy might require."

The dollar was also lower versus the euro and the British pound.

Oil and gold priced edged higher.

The price of the 10-year Treasury was little changed, and the yield held steady around 1.84%. (Embedded image moved to file: pic20053.gif)To top of page

SG Daily - Singapore Exchange: Deriving a new high; Buy TP $8.80 | Suntec REIT: No Letdown From Suntec; Continues to shine; Buy TP $1.81 | Tat Hong Holdings: Still in a Multi-Year Growth Cycle; Buy TP $1.78 Singapore Daily Singapore Exchange: Deriving a new high; Buy TP $8.80 SGX SP | Mkt Cap USD6.6b | ADTV USD8.9m Ø Re-iterate contrarian BUY with a new Street-high TP of SGD8.80 pegged to 29x FY13F. No surprises at results. SGX should benefit from new Basel and other international requirements, and should re-rate from here. Also has ~4% yield. Ø 2QJuneFY13 were within expectations, with net profit of SGD76.3m up 17% yoy. Derivatives had another record revenue quarter, contributing to the strong performance. Ø We think the 21% yoy growth in derivatives revenue may still understate the real progress on this front. Click here for full report [email protected] Suntec REIT: No Letdown From Suntec; Continues to shine; Buy TP $1.81 SUN SP | Mkt Cap USD3.2b | ADTV USD7.9m Ø Suntec’s FY12 DPU beats street estimates of 9.40 SG-cts with an upbeat payout of 9.49 SG-cts, without making any DPU top-ups in 2012 using its Chijmes divestment proceeds Ø Suntec received ~SGD147m net cash from the sale of Chijmes in 1Q12. We think it will keep the flexibility for DPU top-up in 2013, when its mall occupancy is most affected (FY13 DPU down to 9.2 SG-cts from our forecast). Ø Reiterate BUY and we raise our TP to SGD1.81, as we believe that average passing rents for Suntec City Mall AEI are likely to be secured at SGD13.50 psf/mth, above Suntec’s post-AEI target of SGD12.59 psf/mth. Click here for full report [email protected] Tat Hong Holdings: Still in a Multi-Year Growth Cycle; Buy TP $1.78 TAT SP | Mkt Cap USD675.2m | ADTV USD0.9m Ø We continue to believe that Tat Hong is still in the middle of a multi-year growth cycle following our meeting with management. We maintain our conviction BUY call and target price SGD1.78. Ø 2013 will be another good year for the crane rental industry in Asia Pacific. For Tat Hong in particular, the revenue drivers are mainly LNG sector in Australia and infrastructure construction in ASEAN. Ø Additional growth could come from M&A in 2013. In our view such activities should be appreciated by shareholders because of the favorable valuation gap between Tat Hong and potential M&A target companies. Click here for full report [email protected] Roadshows & events Regional 24 – 25 Jan HK Tech Marketing 29 Jan - Malee: Call with CEO 28-29 Jan HK M’sia Econs & Strategy 30 Jan PH Philippines Investment Summit 11 – 15 Mar US OSIM - NDR Forthcoming results 23-Jan Ascott Residence Trust | CapitaCommercial Trust | First REIT | Keppel Land 24-Jan Keppel Corp | Mapletree Commercial Trust 25-Jan Frasers Commercial Trust | Parkway Life REIT | Singapore Post 26-Jan Ascendas Hospitality Trust | Noble Group