Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS ASEAN-Brokers hold neutral view of Singapore property

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STOCKS NEWS ASEAN-Brokers hold neutral view of Singapore property Mar 16th 2012, 03:30 Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:30pm EDT Brokers remain "neutral" on Singapore's private residential property sector as private home sales data released on Thursday showed continued strong growth in February, indicating the government may introduce more cooling measures. In December, Singapore's government announced new measures to cool the housing market as residential prices in the city-state held up well despite a slowing economy. "Protracted strong volumes increase policy risk," CIMB Research said, adding that the 2,413 private units, excluding executive condominiums, sold in February was the highest monthly figure since July 2009. OCBC Investment Research said additional property curbs were the main risk local residential developers faced. "Given the government's track record, we believe its commitment to prevent property overheating is unambiguous," OCBC said. CIMB said despite more property launches last month, the take-up rate was strong with many small units of development being bought. DMG & Partners also kept its "neutral" rating on developers, with a narrowing restated net asset value (RNAV) discount on the sector, but said it prefers real estate investment trusts to developers. To view February private unit sales, click: link.reuters.com/naj27s 1053 (0253 GMT) Reporting by Mark Tay in Singapore Reuters messaging mark.tay.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ************************************************************ 1057 STOCKS NEWS ASEAN-Singapore shares reverse from year-high Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) .FTSTI edged lower, reversing from its highest mark of 2012 hit earlier on Friday amid muted trading on other Asian bourses. "Regionally, we are in line and Hong Kong shares also opened flat. Considering that we have risen quite a lot so far this year, it's not surprising we are consolidating now," said a trader from a local brokerage. Hong Kong shares .HSI were marginally lower, while the MSCI Asia ex Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was 0.13 percent higher. By 10:46 a.m. (0246 GMT), the STI was 0.06 percent lower at 3,023.71 points, down from its intra-day high of 3,035.78 -- a record for this year. 1048 (0248 GMT) Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore Reuters messaging charmian.kok.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ************************************************************ 1039 STOCKS NEWS ASEAN-BaML ups Yangzijiang target, sees new orders Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BaML) raised its target price on Singapore-listed shipbuilder Yangzijiang YAZG.SI to S$2.12 from S$2.08, citing a potential rise in orders for large containers hip orders from mid-2012. It maintained its buy rating on Yangzijiang. The shares were up 1.5 percent at S$1.385, and have soared 52 percent this year. BaML said the company could see its first rig building contract wins in the second half of the year, helped by support from the Chinese government. It also noted that shipbreaking, where ships are broken up for scrap recycling, could also see a boom amid low freight rates, as 27 percent of dry bulk carriers globally will be 20 year or older in the next five years. For a related story on the company, click 1025 (0225 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore) Reuters messaging charmian.kok.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ************************************************************ 0845 STOCKS NEWS ASEAN-Singapore index futures trade higher Singapore MSCI March futures SSGc1 edged 0.1 percent up on Friday, indicating a higher opening for the Straits Times Index .FTSTI. Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, but a fresh batch of data suggesting the U.S. economy may be picking up momentum underpinned investor sentiment. 0843 (0043 GMT) Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore Reuters messaging charmian.kok.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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