Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Shares slip to one-week low

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Shares slip to one-week low Jun 22nd 2012, 05:09 Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:09am EDT Singapore shares slid to a one-week low, in line with other Asian bourses as weak manufacturing data from the United States, Europe and China fuelled concerns over the global economy. By 0442 GMT, the benchmark Straits Times Index was down 0.4 percent at 2,818.63 points, but recovering from an intraday low of 2,798.84. Rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd was the largest loser on the index, retreating 2.2 percent to S$4.54 as weak oil prices also hurt sentiment. Larger rival Keppel Corp Ltd lost 1.5 percent at S$10.06. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.4 percent. A downgrade to the credit ratings of 15 of the world's biggest banks by ratings agency Moody's added to the gloom. 1251 (0451 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:48 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maxi-Cash up 28 pct above IPO price Shares of pawnbroker Maxi-Cash Financial Services Corp Ltd surged as much as 28 percent above its initial public offering price on its market debut, outperforming the broader market. By 0217 GMT, shares of Maxi-Cash were traded at S$0.38, 27 percent above its IPO price of S$0.30, while the Straits Times Index was down 0.5 percent. Around 28.3 million shares were traded, making it the second most actively traded stock by volume. Maxi-Cash sold 56 million new shares, raising S$16.8 million in the IPO. Maxi-Cash has the largest network of pawnshops and retail outlets in 24 locations in Singapore, and has about 13 percent market share of the licensed pawnbroking business, AmFraser Securities said. The company will also benefit from growth in Singapore's pawnbroking business, which saw amount of loans disbursed at pawnshops grow at a compounded 16 percent on average a year from 2000-2011, AmFraser said. "There's a perception that Maxi-Cash's earnings may be more defensive because even during times of recession, the pawnbroking business will still do well," said a local trader. 1024 (0224 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 9:19 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-CIMB cuts OCBC to neutral CIMB Research downgraded Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd to neutral from outperform and cut its target price to S$9.51 from S$10.35, citing lower insurance and trading contributions. By 0106 GMT, OCBC shares were 0.9 percent lower at S$8.70. The shares have gained 11 percent since the start of the year, compared to the Straits Times Index's 6 percent rise. OCBC's wealth management and insurance businesses may suffer amid volatile markets and sustained low interest rates, CIMB said in a report. "With the lowest provision coverage, least aggressive general provisioning in the last three years plus a nascent rising non-performing loan trend, we think that OCBC's earnings has the most headwinds from credit costs," CIMB said in the report. The brokerage also highlighted that OCBC has the highest price-to-book and price-to-earnings valuations in the sector, which may be unjustified as outlook dims. 0908 (0108 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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