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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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