Noble falls below 50¢ in worst plunge in seven years

Singapore

COMMODITIES trader Noble Group turned into a short- seller's playground on Friday, with the stock tumbling definitively below the 50-cent mark to hit its lowest point in seven years on a massive spike in trading volume. The daily percentage drop, too, was the sharpest in a long time.

The counter slid down towards S$0.50 half an hour past the opening bell and proceeded to head further south. It spent the rest of its black Friday trading below S$0.48, fell to as low as S$0.435 after lunchtime and finally finished at S$0.455, down 6.5 Singapore cents or 12.5 per cent from Thursday's close.