US markets rose following Asia's rise yesterday and after the FED signalled continued bond purchases. The FED said it will continue to purchase $85bn of bonds/mth and reiterated that it will do so "until the outlook for the labour has improved substantially". It added that short-term policy rates (Fed funds) will remain near zero for "at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5%" and inflation expectations stay well behaved. FED Chairman Ben Bernanke later stressed that QE3 was not an all-or-nothing program and that the pace of bond purchases could be varied as and when the data improves.

Key data today is China's HSBC March flash manufacturing PMI scheduled for release at 9:45am. Consensus expects a reading of 50.8, a mild improvement over February's number of 50.4. Investors will be watching whether the March figure can further improve from February as the prior month coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday.

Sound Global was sold down after its weak 4Q12 results, CFO departure and the ensuing management shuffle. The stock is now trading at 9x FY13F PE or -1SD of its historical mean. It is the cheapest water stock in the region, trading at >40% discount to peers' average of 15x PE. Our analyst has adjusted FY13/14F earnings by -5%/+12% respectively to conservatively phase out project recognition schedule. Maintain BUY, target price lowered to S$0.81 (Prev S$ 0.89), but there is still 62% potential upside. Surging interest expense and delayed execution are key risks; Sound Global's depressed valuations could draw privatization interest, in our view.

Ezion has secured a charter contract worth US$48.2m over three years to provide a service rig for an international oil company in the Arabian Gulf region. This is Ezion's 4^thliftboat/service rig contract YTD in FY13 and adds on to its recurring earnings stream. This contract should boost FY14 EPS by about 3.5%. With a fortified balance sheet - following the recent issue of new shares and the divestment of its stake in the OMSA JV - and a robust pipeline of potential projects, we believe Ezion will continue to grow its project backlog and earnings stream. Maintain BUY with higher TP of S$2.42 (Prev S$ 2.38) for its high earnings visibility and undemanding valuations.

Mermaid Maritimeproposes to undertake a non-renounceable non-underwritten rights issue of new shares and a private placement of such number of new shares, which would be equivalent to the remaining unsubscribed excess Rights Shares, to raise gross proceeds of approximately S$176.1m. Up to 628.8m Rights Shares will be offered at an issue price of S$0.280 for each Rights Share on the basis of four Rights Shares for every five existing shares held. The proceeds will be used for repayment of existing loan facilities, initial payment and other related expenses for construction of two new rigs and general working capital.