Noble Group shares rise most in two weeks, top shareholder ups stake

[SINGAPORE] Shares in commodity firm Noble Group Ltd rose more than 4 per cent on Tuesday, their biggest daily increase in more than two weeks, after its top shareholder increased its stake in the company.

Noble Holdings Ltd, a vehicle associated with company founder and chairman Richard Elman, increased its stake to 20.9264 per cent from 20.855 per cent by purchasing 4.8 million shares via market transaction on March 2, company statements showed.

Noble Group's shares rose as high as S$0.99 (US$0.73), recovering from a more than one-year low of S$0.92 hit in the previous session.

The stock had tumbled more than 20 per cent from Feb 13, after the company came under attack of a short-seller for its accounting practices and then reported its first quarterly loss in three years.

REUTERS