Hot stock: Interest in NOL may continue on new development from West Coast ports

SHARES of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), which surged to a high of S$1.065 on Wednesday morning following news of its plans to divest its logistics business, have since stabilised.

As at 2.45pm on Monday, NOL was trading at S$1.02, down some 0.49 per cent from Wednesday's closing price.

But NOL may be in play this week again due to positive news related to its core liner business, CMC Markets analyst Nicholas Teo said.

"Late Friday, it was announced that the US West Coast dock workers and their employers reached a five-year contract deal. This averted a shutdown of 29 ports that could have cost the US economy and NOL heavily," Mr Teo said.

In its recent earnings release, NOL had blamed the industrial slowdown and subsequent congestion in the West Coast ports - a major contributing segment of NOL's container liner business - as a key reason for the slide in both quarterly and annual revenues for the company.

"This new development from the West Coast Ports could offer traders a reason to bid up the stock again," Mr Teo noted.