Last Friday, Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index (.FTSTI) rose 0.8% to 2,790.29 points.

Financial stocks such as DBS (DBSM.SI), and Singapore Exchange (SGXL.SI) may be inspired by gains on Wall Street as US employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month and consumers showed signs of shedding their penny-pinching ways.

Here are some stocks and factors to watch:
Property firms: The government announced last week that it will cut some subsidies enjoyed by non-Singaporeans when they buy apartments built by state Housing & Development Board (HDB). Citigroup said in a note the measures may not have a major impact on the market, but warned more measures could come if prices keep rising.

Visitor arrivals in Singapore are expected to rise 20–30% to 11.5–12.5 million this year, helped by a pickup in the global economy and the draw of the city-state's new casinos, the government said last Friday. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) CEO Aw Kah Peng told a tourism industry conference she expects tourism revenue to rise 41-50% from 2009 to $17.5-$18.5 billion. “This is hugely, hugely ambitious,” she acknowledged, but said she was hoping the final result could outperform the forecast.

Cosco Corporation (Singapore) says unit Cosco (Zhoushan) Shipyard Co. has agreed to the requests by a European ship owner to delay the delivery dates of four 57,000 dwt bulk carriers it has ordered by 18 to 19 months.

Universal Studios Singapore, the amusement park in Resorts World at Sentosa casino resort operated by Genting Singapore plc, will be opened to the public from 8:28 a.m. on March 18.