Stocks to watch: CRCT, MCT, ST Engg, Keppel Reit, FCT, ESR-Reit

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Thursday:

CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT): The Covid-19 outbreak in China has caused a plunge in first quarter sales for tenants of malls under CRCT, with sales dropping 42.5 per cent year on year, the trust's manager said. Units of CRCT were trading at S$1.26 as at 9.01am on Thursday after the announcement, up S$0.01 or 0.8 per cent.

Singtel: Video streaming service Hooq Digital, a joint venture company in which Singtel has an indirect 76.5 per cent effective interest, had to sack its global workforce of 240 people across six markets, including about 98 in Singapore, after it entered liquidation on March 27. Singtel shares were unchanged at S$2.76 as at 9.42am.

DBS, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank (UOB): With oil trading giant Hin Leong making headlines amid the recent collapse of oil prices, the Singapore banks are set to take charges against their broader exposure to the oil-linked sectors but in a more measured way given more prudence today, analysts said. Shares of DBS were up S$0.13 or 0.7 per cent to S$18.87, OCBC increased S$0.10 or 1.2 per cent to S$8.72 and UOB rose S$0.10 or 0.5 per cent to S$19.70 as at 9.42am.

Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT): The real estate investment trust (Reit) has declared a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.91 Singapore cent for the fourth quarter ended March 31, down sharply from 2.31 cents for the year-ago period, despite a 10.5 per cent rise in distributable income. MCT's manager said this is in the interest of exercising prudence amid an uncertain Covid-19 situation. Units in the Reit closed down S$0.03 or 1.7 per cent at S$1.77 on Wednesday before the release of the results.

Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering): The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, ST Engineering RHQ, has priced US$750 million in five-year notes with a 1.5 per cent fixed-rate coupon. Shares of ST Engineering fell S$0.04 or 1.2 per cent to finish trading at S$3.29 on Wednesday, before the announcement.

Keppel Reit: Keppel Reit has declared a DPU of 1.4 Singapore cents for the first quarter ended March 31, up a marginal 0.7 per cent from 1.39 Singapore cents for the year-ago period, the Reit's manager announced on Wednesday after market close. Keppel Reit units closed down S$0.01 or 1 per cent at S$0.99 on Wednesday before the results were released.

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT): FCT on Thursday posted a second-quarter DPU of 1.61 Singapore cents, down 48.7 per cent from 3.137 cents a year ago. This was attributable to an enlarged unitholders base and a higher amount of distributable income retained during the quarter, the manager said. FCT units closed at S$2.10 on Wednesday, down S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent.

ESR-Reit: The manager of ESR-Reit has more than halved its DPU to 0.5 Singapore cent for the first quarter ended March 31 from 1.007 cents a year ago, the manager said in an interim update on Thursday. Units of ESR-Reit increased by S$0.01 or 2.9 per cent to close at S$0.36 on Wednesday.

iFast: The wealth management fintech firm on Thursday posted a 126.8 per cent rise in net profit to S$3.6 million for its first quarter ended March 31, from S$1.6 million a year ago. Shares of mainboard-listed iFAST closed down 0.5 Singapore cent or 0.6 per cent to 86 cents on Wednesday.

ComfortDelGro: ComfortDelGro Taxi is extending the full taxi rental waiver for its drivers till June 1, in line with a similar extension of circuit breaker measures, the taxi company announced on Wednesday. Shares of ComfortDelGro closed down S$0.02 or 1.3 per cent to S$1.48 on Wednesday.