Singapore shares fall as company earnings disappoint; STI down 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares fell on Wednesday as Straits Times Index (STI) constituents OCBC and City Devleopments announced financial results that fell short of analyst expectations on Wednesday (Feb 26).

The STI shed 0.2 per cent or 7.82 points to 3,908.05. On 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 lender 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, while UOB gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.24 to S$38.44.

Meanwhile, City Developments (CDL) posted a second-half net profit decline of 54.7 per cent to S$113.5 million.

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 shares of CDL was halted on Wednesday after its board disagreed on its composition and constitution.

On the STI, Seatrium was at the bottom of the table, shedding 3.9 per cent or S$0.09 to S$2.20. Meanwhile, Hongkong Land was the top gainer, gaining 2.7 per cent or US$0.12 to US$4.63.

Regional markets were mostly in the black. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 3.3 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.3 per cent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.3 per cent.