

SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Singapore shares may
rise on Friday after a better-than-expected decline in jobless
claims in the U.S. lifted Wall Street overnight. The local
market may also get a boost from positive news from rig builder
Keppel Corp and commodities firm Noble Group
.
Keppel Corp, the world's largest oil rig builder, may be in
focus after it announced a contract worth around $809 million to
design and build a semi-submersible rig for Urca Drilling BV, a
unit of Sete Brasil Participações.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2357 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1254 0.83% 10.280
USD/JPY 78.17 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.9528 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD 1607.74 0.11% 1.840
US CRUDE 99.39 -0.14% -0.140
DOW JONES 12169.65 0.51% 61.91
ASIA ADRS 113.01 0.96% 1.07
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Rally brings S&P closer to break-even for 2011
> Long bonds gain in light, pre-holiday volume
> Euro sluggish in Asia, no rush to USD either
> Gold slips as dollar gains in light trade
> Oil up on supply worry, supportive U.S. data
Stocks and factors to watch:
-- NOBLE GROUP
Commodities firm Noble Group said it will make a one-time
gain of about $200 million from a proposed merger between its
subsidiary Gloucester Coal and the Australian unit of
China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co.
-- OLAM INTERNATIONAL LTD
- Singapore commodities firm Olam International
said on Thursday it plans to acquire 75.2 percent interest in
Macao Commodities Trading S.L. for 15 million euros ($19.6
million).
-- HI-P INTERNATIONAL LTD
- Singapore electronics firm Hi-P International
said on Thursday it has reached a resolution with around 200
Chinese workers who recently went on strike over a planned plant
relocation.
-- SATS LTD
- The Singapore Tourism Board said on Thursday it has
appointed a joint venture between SATS Ltd and Creuers
del Port de Barcelona S.A. to operate Singapore's upcoming
International Cruise Terminal for a 10-year term.
- Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell
0.32 percent on Thursday to 2,664.80 points.
- The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.51
percent to 12,169.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
climbed 0.83 percent to 1,254.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index
rose 0.83 percent to 2,599.45.
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source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/23/singapore-market-stocks-preopener-idUSL3E7NN00420111223