Yellen's comments help lift stocks

NEWS that the US Federal Reserve is in no rush to raise interest rates was welcomed by markets on Wednesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) managing a modest 3.22-point rise to 3,440.83. The entire market recorded 240 gains versus 193 falls and volume was in line with recent averages at 1.38 billion units worth S$1.28 billion.

Western markets on Tuesday rose after Fed chief Janet Yellen said in her testimony to the US Senate Banking Committee that the central bank will consider interest rate policy from a meeting to meeting basis, referring to the six-weekly Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings. Over in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at new all-time highs.

Genting Singapore stood out with a S$0.065 or 6.2 per cent plunge to S$0.98 on volume of 130.3 million shares. It was the day's most active stock and the fall came after the casino operator reported a worse-than-expected set of Q4 figures due to a drop in China visitors and an unexpected fall in its win rate. Brokers responded with cautiously negative opinions - OCBC Investment Research said it is maintaining a "hold" on the stock with value emerging around S$0.95, whilst OSK DMG said it is "neutral" on Genting with a reduced target price of S$1.06 from S$1.14.