Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index at 1-week low; small-caps in play

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index at 1-week low; small-caps in play Apr 23rd 2012, 05:17 Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:17am EDT Singapore's benchmark index fell to a week-low, with small and mid-caps dominating trading volume in the broader market and analysts forecast thin gains for blue-chip stocks. The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.3 percent at 2,986.3 points after falling to 2,983.08, the lowest since April 17. The STI has gained 13 percent so far this year, while the FT ST Small Cap Index and FT ST Mid Cap Index have advanced around 17 percent and 18 percent respectively. "Against the backdrop of earnings and what is happening in Europe, China or the U.S, I think the blue chips have come quite far," said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research. "There may not be much upside for the big-cap stocks, so people are loading into the small-caps." Among stand-out gainers, shares of TT International Ltd , a consumer electronics firm with a warehouse retail project in Singapore, surged 15 percent, while consumer goods distributor JEL Corp (Holdings) Ltd added 31 percent. Shares of GMG Global Ltd dropped 3.5 percent after the rubber producer reported a 24.5 percent fall in first-quarter net profit from a year ago, partly hit by lower average selling prices of rubber. For a report on Asian markets, click: 1305 (0505 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 12:48 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-CIMB raises Mapletree Logistics target price CIMB Research increased its target price for Mapletree Logistics Trust MAPL.SI, which owns warehouses and logistic assets across Asia, to S$1.07 from S$1.00 and kept its outperform rating, citing its acquisition growth potential. Units of Mapletree were 0.5 percent lower at S$0.97, and have gained 15 percent so far this year. CIMB said the trust sees more opportunities for acquisitions in existing markets such as South Korea, China and Malaysia, as well as in new markets including Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. The broker expects an increase in rents, with most leases due this year from Singapore and Hong Kong. It said Mapletree was silent on Australia's Stockland Group's reported potential sale of part of its industrial property portfolio in Australia to sponsor, Mapletree Investments. Out of 15 brokers tracking Mapletree Logistics, 13 have a buy or strong buy and two have a hold rating. For a related company statement, click: link.reuters.com/zen77s 1235 (0435 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok @thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 11:36 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-DMG cuts Stamford Land target price DMG & Partners Research lowered its target price on luxury hotel operator Stamford Land Corp Ltd to S$0.73 from S$0.78 but maintained its buy rating. Stamford shares were flat at S$0.555 and have remained steady so far this year. The broker cut its earnings estimate for Stamford's 2012 fiscal year by 24 percent due to slower residential sales as the remaining units in the firm's Sydney project are larger units priced at around A$10 million ($10 million) each. But it said Stamford's hotels had seen better occupancies and rates on the back of a buoyant Australian economy and stronger demand from the domestic corporate segment. DMG said the lapse of a memorandum of understanding for the sale-and-leaseback of Stamford's three hotels in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide was a near-term setback to the company's efforts to unlock value from its hotel assets. 1124 (0324 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 11:03 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank Kim Eng downgrades CapitaCommercial Maybank Kim Eng Research cut its rating on CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) CACT.SI to sell from hold and lowered its target price to S$1.06 from S$1.25. CCT's units were flat at S$1.25, having risen about 18 percent so far this year. Kim Eng said CCT's average office portfolio rent fell to S$7.45 per square foot (psf) in March from S$7.66 psf in December 2011 and said a quick upturn in office demand is unlikely due to ample supply and the prospect of tepid gross domestic product growth. "As we do not foresee an imminent upturn in office rents, current valuations appear rich and the 2012 fiscal year yield of 5.9 percent is insufficient to offset sectoral headwinds." However, UOB Kay Hian raised its target price on CCT to S$1.20 from S$1.15 and kept its hold rating. The broker raised CCT's 2012-2014 distribution per unit forecast by 1-3 percent due to interest savings from debt refinancing. For related company statement, click: link.reuters.com/jan77s 1050 (0250 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:11 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-OCBC downgrades First REIT OCBC Investment Research cut its rating on healthcare real estate investment trust First REIT to hold from buy due to the strong unit price performance this year, but raised its price target to S$0.935 from S$0.89. First REIT units were down 0.5 percent at S$0.92, having risen 22 percent so far this year. While the hospitals owned by First REIT and operated by its sponsor, Lippo Karawaci, continued to grow with higher revenue in 2011 fiscal year than a year ago, the growth rates of some of these hospitals have eased partly due to the higher base effect, OCBC said. OCBC said organic growth for First REIT would likely be relatively stable in 2012 and it expects base rents for the company's Indonesian assets to rise 2 percent. For related company statement, click: link.reuters.com/han77s 0941 (0141 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 08:37 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index futures up 0.2 pct Singapore index futures rose 0.2 percent early on Monday, indicating the benchmark Straits Times Index .FTSTI would open higher. Asian shares and the euro steadied on Monday after the IMF secured new funding to prevent the contagion of the euro zone's debt crisis, with investors turning to Chinese data to gauge the market's resilience to risk. 0836 (0036 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 0.9641 Australian dollars) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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