Singapore shares were lower, with banks and rig builders among the biggest decliners, but Indonesian coal miner Geo Energy Resources surged in its trading debut.
The Straits Times Index was down 0.3% at 3,051.11 points. MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was also 0.3% lower.
Nomura downgraded Singapore banks to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’, saying the lenders are likely to see slower earnings per share growth going into the 2013 fiscal year, with emerging macro headwinds and continuing net interest margin pressure.
Shares of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp fell 1%, United Overseas Bank lost 0.6%, while DBS Group Holdings gave up 0.4%.
Shares of Keppel Corp, the world’s largest oil rig builder, declined as much as 1.3% after reporting a
15% fall in third-quarter net profit mainly due to lower margin projects.
DBS Vickers cut its target price on Keppel to $12.65 from $13.20 after reducing its offshore and marine earnings estimate for 2013 fiscal year. But DBS maintained its ‘buy’ rating.
Shares of Keppel’s rival Sembcorp Marine fell 1% to $4.89.
Geo Energy shares surged as much as 51% above its initial public offering price on volume of nearly 236 million. It was the top traded stock by both value and volume in the Singapore market.
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