Maybank (MBBM.KL), Malaysia’s largest lender by assets, is snapping up Kim Eng for $1.4 billion in a move to strengthen its grip on the regional stock broking industry and diversify the lender’s source of overseas revenue.
Commodity prices fell sharply on Tuesday as investors took advantage of record high prices to take profits, a move accelerated by a rally in the U.S. dollar.
Rigbuilders posting hefty declines, falling more than STI’s 1.2% slump; SembCorp Marine (S51.SG) down 2.8% at $4.95, Keppel (BN4.SG) down 3.3% at $10.54, SembCorp (U96.SG) off 2.8% at $4.82, says Dow Jones.
All three stocks falling for second day after sharp run-up since start of October, which partly on back of increased order wins, also fuelled by general hopes Fed’s QE2 would ensure continued liquidity flow into Singapore blue chips.
“It’s just profit-taking, the share prices went up a lot, Keppel rose from around $9.00 (at October start) to $11.00, while SembMarine rose from around $3.90 to $5.20,” says analyst at local brokerage.
“What goes up the fastest comes down the fastest…that’s the only explanation, the fundamental outlook for rig builders hasn’t changed.”
Volume for all three stocks moderate, orderbooks tip buyers interested at $4.92 for SembMarine, $10.50 for Keppel, $4.80 for SembCorp.
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At 0231 GMT, Golden Agri shares were down 1.9% at $0.765 on a volume of 3.9 million shares.
Shares of Mapletree Industrial Trust <MAPI.SI>, which owns factories and other industrial properties in Singapore, fell as much as 4.3% on Friday due to profit-taking after a strong debut the previous day.
At 10:50 a.m., Mapletree shares were trading at $1.12 on a volume of 58.8 million shares.
New ADRs on Singapore Exchange’s (S68.SG) GlobalQuote board not seeing much interest; only 11/19 ADRS traded, volume very low, says Dow Jones.
Ctrip.com International ADR (K3RD.SG) — China based travel services provider — most traded, at US$51.40 ($66.9) vs US$51.01 close in NY yesterday.
“Trade in ADRs of companies dual-listed in Hong Kong may pick up when the market there gets going,” says trader at local brokerage, but doesn’t expect much activity on the whole.
Singapore shares fell slightly by midday on Tuesday, pulling back from a two-year high reached a day earlier, but are seen to have near-term support above the 3,000-point level.
By the lunch break, the Straits Times Index (STI) <.FTSTI> was 0.3% or 8.95 points lower at 3,148.50.
Shares of casino operators Genting Singapore <GENS.SI> and Genting Hong Kong <GENH.SI> were down on Tuesday on profit-taking and after a brokerage said the current valuation for Genting Hong Kong looks expensive.
Shares of Genting Singapore fell as much as 3% and at 11:09 a.m. they were trading at $1.98. Nearly 57 million shares had changed hands.
The stock has risen 56% since early August.
Singapore shares may be able to build on yesterday’s gains on back of Wall Street’s advance overnight, paving way for STI to set new year-to-date high. Immediate resistance for benchmark, which closed +1.5% at 2010 high of 3,066.81 yesterday, at lower end of 3,085-3,146 breakdown gap formed in June 2008, then 3,100, according to Dow Jones.
Shares of Singapore’s offshore marine services firm Beng Kuang Marine <BENK.SI> fell 5.6% to $0.255 at 11:22 a.m. as investors locked in profits after the firm completed the placement of 90 million shares at a discount.
Over 8.5 million shares had changed hands by 11:00 a.m.
Beng Kuang said the shares were placed at $0.21 a share and will list on the Singapore stock exchange today.
Singapore shares still firm but negative US stock futures, mixed performances in regional markets suggest upside may be minimal, says Dow Jones.
STI +0.6% at 2,942.12, may encounter resistance at last week’s 2,952 high. “Technically, the index has surprised on the upside,” says OCBC Investment Research analyst Phillip Teo; “however, with the intraday MACD already showing signs of turning lower, the index is likely to face some profit-taking pressure in the afternoon.”
Shares of Singapore-listed C&O Pharmaceutical Technology fell as much as 4% to $0.475 today as investors took profit after the Chinese firm announced strong quarterly earnings. Stock now trading –2% at $0.485.
Over 8.3 million shares had changed hands by 9:55 a.m.
Singapore shares snapped a two-day winning streak to end lower today in line with most Asian bourses, with weak leads from US futures an additional negative factor.
Traders and analysts say the market is likely to see some more selling pressure tomorrow as investors look to book profit ahead of a shortened week. The market is closed on Friday for the Easter holiday.
Singapore shares seesaw between positive and negative territory in early trade, though largely downward biased as investors digest market’s recent strong run, reported Dow Jones Newswires.
STI last down 0.4% at 2,908.23, with support tipped around 5-day moving average at psychologically important 2,900 mark. Broad market volume thin; market breadth slightly positive with gainers outpacing losers 1.4 to 1.
