Asian stocks looked set for a cautious start on Friday as rising tension between the U.S. and China added to concern about the pace of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The dollar was steady and Treasury yields dipped.

Futures pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, and were flat in Australia. U.S. contracts ticked higher. China responded to accusations from President Donald Trump, warning that it will safeguard its sovereignty, security and interests, and threatened countermeasures, dragging down a big Hong Kong exchange traded fund by almost 4%. The S&P 500 closed lower, with signs mounting that Trump will make his tough-on-China stance a key element of his re-election bid. The energy, technology and utilities sectors led the losses.

SBS Transit's profit after tax fell 46.1 per cent on the year to S$11.1 million for the first quarter, led by a decline in public transport services. The group, which is 75-per-cent owned by ComfortDelGro Group, said that "the path of recovery to normal is expected to be very gradual", with social distancing expected to continue even after Singapore's lockdown period is over.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Thursday said it is speeding up the process of integrating its purpose-built student-accommodation operations and rebranding certain "high-quality" assets in preparation for the reopening of universities in the UK. Straits Capitol, the SPH subsidiary managing the student-accommodation assets, also hinted at hiring to boost on-ground operations. Its director, David Mathewson, said: “We are undertaking this integration to boost our operational efficiencies as we position ourselves for AY (academic year) 20/21.

Catalist-listed property developer Hatten Land has been given more time to repay a US$20 million loan, but more shares in the company have been pledged to the lender, Haitong International Financial Products (Singapore). Hatten Holdings pledged an additional 360 million ordinary shares it holds in the company to Haitong, bringing the stake pledged to the lender to about 53 per cent.

Mainboard-listed Straco Corporation swung into a net loss of S$3.4 million for the first quarter, from a S$8.5 million net profit previously, as the Covid-19 pandemic forced its tourist attractions to close temporarily. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 fell 86.2 per cent on the year to S$3.4 million, as the group's attractions in China have been hit with temporary closures since late January.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR