Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Most SE Asia cos earnings beat last quarter - Morgan Stanley

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Most SE Asia cos earnings beat last quarter - Morgan Stanley Sep 11th 2012, 06:21 Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:21am EDT Majority of Southeast Asian companies tracked by MSCI have reported better-than-expected results for the quarter ended June, with Malaysia and Philippines leading the way, Morgan Stanley said. Among the large sectors, MSCI Financials stands out, beating consensus earnings estimates by 1390 basis points and across most Asian markets, the bank said in a report. It remains overweight on Indonesian healthcare and financial firms, as well as Thai and Singapore consumer staples. However, it is underweight on Singapore banks, Indonesia energy and materials stocks and Thai utilities. Thailand and Philippines are among the best performing markets worldwide so far this year, up 22 percent and 19 percent respectively. Kalbe Farma Tbk is one of Morgan Stanley's most preferred picks amongst Indonesian staples, due to its attractive exposure to under-penetrated categories of healthcare and nutrition. The brokerage has an 'overweight' rating on the stock with a target price of 4,350 ruppiah. In Singapore, Morgan Stanley prefers commodity firm Olam International Ltd as it expects a strong rebound in its earnings in 2013. Food segment earnings, which make up about 80 percent of Olam's portfolio, are resilient and growing despite weak macroeconomic conditions, the bank said. It has an 'overweight' rating and a target price of S$2.50 for Olam. 1409 (0609 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 13:23 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Shares flat at midday; Wilmar, NOL down Singapore shares were flat at midday, as investors were cautious ahead of major events this week such as a German Constitutional Court ruling on the euro zone's bailout funds and a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. Higher beta cyclical stocks such as palm oil firm Wilmar International Ltd and container shipper Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL) were among the biggest losers on the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) due to heightened risk aversion. At midday, the STI was up 1.28 points, or 0.04 percent at 3,010.00 points, while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 percent. Wilmar dropped 1.3 percent to S$3.01, while NOL dropped 1.4 percent to S$1.085. However, shipbuilder COSCO Corp (Singapore) Ltd gained as much as 2.1 percent after it said it had won a $200-million contract to build a semi-submersible rig. CIMB Research said it remains sceptical about COSCO's ability to execute offshore projects profitably, despite winning $1.4 billion worth of them so far this year. "Risks include margin deterioration, execution delays and order cancellations by customers. Provisions for cost overruns could remain the norm for another few quarters," CIMB said in a report. 1310 (0510 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 11:31 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-AmFraser starts Cache Logistics with buy AmFraser initiated the coverage of Cache Logistics Trust with a 'buy' rating and a target price of S$1.29 as it expects the trust to benefit from Singapore's development as a global logistics centre. Units of Cache, which owns warehouses, were down 0.4 percent at S$1.15, but have jumped 21 percent since the start of the year, compared to the FT ST Real Estate Investment Trust's 27 percent rise. Cache has built-in rental escalation rates of 1.5-2.5 percent and the long-tern nature of its master lease agreements will support earnings in the face of weak economic conditions, AmFraser said. The brokerage noted that Cache has an attractive forward yield of 7-7.3 percent for 2012-2013. Its sponsor CWT Ltd also provides the trust with a strong pipeline of local and foreign acquisition assets, with rights of first refusal on 13 properties. 1120 (0320 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:58 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Tiger Airways up on passenger growth Budget carrier Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd rose as much as 2.8 percent in a flat market after it posted stronger growth in passengers it carried last month and higher load factor. By 0235 GMT, Tiger shares were up 2.1 percent at S$0.735, while the Straits Times Index was unchanged. Tiger has risen 15.7 percent so far this year, compared to Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific and Russia Airline Services Index's 6 percent drop. Tiger said it carried 556,000 passengers in August, up 62 percent from a year ago. It reported a passenger load factor of 84 percent, higher than 77 percent last year. Tiger's Singapore operations carried 19 percent more passengers in August compared to a year earlier, due to an expanded capacity base. Its Australian operations also continued to show encouraging signs, said DBS Vickers in a report. "We continue to believe that the carrier will move steadily towards profitability and we expect the group as a whole to be profitable by the last quarter of this year," said DBS. The budge carrier reported in July a loss of S$13.7 million for the first quarter, smaller than a loss of S$20.6 million a year ago. 1039 (0239 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:20 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Phillip cuts Hu An Cable target price Phillip Securities cut its target price for Hu An Cable Holdings Ltd to S$0.190 from S$0.275 and kept its 'buy' rating, citing smaller expected revenue and lower copper prices. Shares of Hu An were unchanged at S$0.134. They have gained 18.6 percent since the start of the year, compared with the FT ST Industrials Index's 16.6 percent rise. Hu An had said its net profit for the first half of the year fell 37.8 percent from a year ago to 38.7 million yuan. The company underperformed most of its peers in terms of revenue growth and net profit margin, Phillip said in a report. The brokerage cut its forecast revenue for the second half of the year and first quarter of 2013 by 25 percent, due to lower-than-expected volumes for its cable and wire business in the second quarter. 1007 (0207 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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