Hot stock: Noble plunges 16% after decision not to pay US$379m bond due Tuesday

NOBLE Group shares plunged on Monday following its decision not to pay the principal and interest on a US$379 million bond due Tuesday - putting the company on course for its first note default.

The commodity trader made this announcement on Friday evening and also said that it will not be paying the coupon due on its 2020 notes that it had already missed.

As at 2pm, the stock was down 16 per cent to 11.5 Singapore cents with almost 23 million shares changing hands.

This follows a roller-coaster week for Noble's shares - which spiked to as high as 17.4 Singapore cents last Monday before falling to as low as 12.9 cents in intra-day trading on Friday.

The beleaguered commodity trader has been embroiled in controversy since 2015 when Iceberg Research started publishing critiques of its accounting.

The company has signed a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with creditors holding 46 per cent of its senior debt.