Singapore Stocks: DBS Group, CapitaMalls Asia, Yangzijiang
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.1 percent to 2,731.81 at the close, paring losses of as much as 1.9 percent earlier. About three stocks rose for every two that fell in the index of 30 companies.
The following shares were among the most active in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company name.
Banks: Kim Eng Holdings Ltd. cut its rating on Singapore lenders to “sell,” saying lending will drop and net interest margins will come under pressure amid slowing global economic growth. The brokerage had “buy” ratings for both DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBS) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC SP) previously, while United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) was a “hold.”
DBS Group, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, slipped 1.1 percent to S$13.36. Oversea-Chinese Banking, Singapore’s second- largest lender by market value, lost 0.9 percent to S$8.67. Smaller rival United Overseas Bank declined 1.8 percent to S$18.20.
CapitaMalls Asia Ltd. (CMA) , the owner of shopping malls in Singapore, Japan, China, India and Malaysia, gained 2.2 percent to S$1.165. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its rating on the stock to “buy” from “hold,” saying investors may have over-estimated the potential deterioration of the company’s underlying assets in China, which is now valued at close to zero based on its current share price.
KTL Global Ltd. (KTLG) , a supplier of rope and other rigging equipment to the offshore oil and gas industry, tumbled 10 percent to 35 Singapore cents after saying it expects to report a full-year loss. The company did not elaborate, saying the earnings will be released on or before Aug. 29.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd. (YZJ) , a China- based shipbuilder, climbed 4.1 percent to S$1.01 after slumping by the most since October 2008 on Aug. 19. The company expects to sustain profit margins above 20 percent throughout 2012 and 2013, it said in a statement to the stock exchange.
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