Singapore shares fall as company earnings disappoint; STI down 0.2%
Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 330 to 236, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion change hands
SINGAPORE stocks slipped on Wednesday (Feb 26) after Straits Times Index (STI) constituents OCBC and City Developments Ltd (CDL) announced financial results that fell short of analyst expectations.
The STI shed 0.2 per cent or 7.82 points to 3,908.05. Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 330 to 236, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.
OCBC posted a fourth-quarter net profit of S$1.69 billion, which missed a consensus estimate of S$1.78 billion based on a Bloomberg survey of five analysts.
Shares of OCBC fell 2.2 per cent or S$0.39 to S$17.21, even as the bank announced plans to return S$2.5 billion of capital to shareholders over two years via special dividends and share buybacks.
Fellow local lenders DBS and UOB ended the day in the black. DBS gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.12 to S$46.67, and UOB climbed 0.6 per cent or S$0.24 to S$38.44.
Meanwhile, CDL posted a second-half net profit decline of 54.7 per cent to S$113.5 million.
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The company’s earnings per share for the half-year stood at S$0.121, short of a consensus estimate of S$0.27 based on a Bloomberg survey of eight analysts.
Trading in the shares of CDL was halted on Wednesday, after its board disagreed on its composition and constitution.
On the STI, Seatrium came in at the bottom of the table, shedding 3.9 per cent or S$0.09 to S$2.20. Hongkong Land was the top gainer, rising 2.7 per cent or US$0.12 to US$4.63.
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Regional markets were mostly in the black. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 3.3 per cent, the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.3 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index rose 0.4 per cent, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.3 per cent.
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