Latest news with #SameerManekar
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore's high-yield stocks gain from tariff-induced flight to safety
By Sameer Manekar (Reuters) -As reverberations from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are felt across markets, investors are increasingly gravitating toward Singapore's high-yield, defensive companies, including telecom firms, pivoting away from old favourites such as banks. Singapore's benchmark index has proved resilient in the face of the back-and-forth tariff salvos, eking out a small gain for the year and faring better than regional peers as investors hunt for safe bets during the market tumult. "Singapore is a high-yield market, which is going to be interesting and defensive in these times," said Kenneth Tang, senior portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management. "It has characteristically been a lot more defensive and yield focused, and that will work in its favour." Singapore's telecom, industrials, and utilities stocks - viewed by investors as defensive sectors during extreme volatility - have become hot favourites, attracting the most institutional money in the last two weeks. Telecommunications firm Singtel pulled in S$343.6 million ($261.6 million) in the past two weeks alone from institutional investors, more than the S$297 million it received in the first three months of the year, exchange data showed. That compares with S$259 million net institutional outflows from the three Singapore banks - DBS, OCBC, and United Overseas Bank - over the last two weeks, and combined outflow of S$2 billion this year. Financials comprise nearly half the Straits Times Index and powered the market surge in 2024. But the three big banks have underperformed the broader market this year due to worries over a slowdown in earnings growth and macroeconomic headwinds. In contrast, Singtel has gained more than 22% this year and was last near an eight-year high, while ST Engineering has advanced 54% to record highs. The tariffs have refocused investors' attention on Singapore equities - previously overlooked due to limited growth prospects - for their high capital returns, alongside the city-state's stable political environment, steady currency and deep fiscal reserves that can help it weather trade headwinds. "A lot more corporations are paying out even more yields or more dividends, and that is a perfect narrative at a time when there is a flight to safety and investors are focusing more on the certainty of income," Tang said. Foreign investor interest, as reflected by the BlackRock-managed iShares MSCI Singapore ETF, has also returned, though it remains far below where it was before Trump's April 2-tariff announcements. Singapore stocks have risen more than 14% in the past two weeks and clocked an eight-session rally, following a sharp drop in the immediate aftermath of the reciprocal tariffs announced in early April. The dividend yield of Singapore stocks was at 4.93, higher than the yield for Malaysian and Thai equities, LSEG data showed. ($1 = 1.3135 Singapore dollars)
Mint
22-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Gold miners, banks keep Australian shares afloat in holiday-thinned week
Gold miners surge to record highs Australian banks jump; CBA soars to all-time high Tech stocks decline, energy sector down 2% By Sameer Manekar and Nichiket Sunil April 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended little changed on Tuesday as volumes remained thin in a holiday-truncated week and a rush to safer assets like banks and gold miners offset a sell-off in tariff-exposed sectors such as technology and energy. The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped marginally to finish at 7,816.70 points. Volumes were at their lowest in more than three weeks as trade resumed after a four-day weekend. Markets will be closed again on Friday. An overnight flight from U.S. assets, sparked by President Donald Trump's relentless criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Powell, spilled into Australia's tech stocks that broadly tracks the Nasdaq index. But a rush to gold miners and banks kept the benchmark afloat. "The (ASX) market is actually outperforming the U.S. as the gold producers are holding the market up," said Jessica Amir, a market strategist at moomoo, predicting the case for gold to further solidify on rising demand. Gold miners surged nearly 3% to finish at a record high as bullion continued to scale new peaks. The sub-index clocked its seventh straight day of gains. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining jumped 3% and 4.9%, respectively, to finish at all-time highs. The financials sub-index, dominated by the "Big Four" banks, jumped over 1% to a near seven-week high. Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) surged 4.2% to finish at its all-time high of A$168.00 per share. "The Australian banks are seen as a safe haven. We're seeing quite a lot of buying in the CBA and it's up quite strongly against the market," said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at TenCap, an investment management firm. Tech stocks fell to a near two-week low, while the energy sector declined 1.9% on weak oil prices. The mining and consumer staple stocks gained slightly, while healthcare and real estate fell up to 1%.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Coles profit meets Street view, dividend highest in over 5 years
By Sameer Manekar (Reuters) -Australian grocer Coles Group reported a first-half profit in line with market expectations and declared its highest dividend in at least five years on Thursday, helped by the holiday shopping frenzy and a strike at larger rival Woolworths. Shares of the retailer jumped 4% to an all-time high of A$20.48 per share in early trade, compared with a 0.3% rise in the ASX200 benchmark index as of 2312 GMT. Underlying earnings at its Supermarkets segment, Coles' biggest money-making business, jumped more than 14% to A$2.03 billion as consumers saddled with high living costs shopped for cheap and discounted items, particularly during the holiday season. In comparison, earnings at Woolworths' Australian Food business fell 5.4% during the first half, as rising living costs spurred bargain-hunting and a warehouse strike left shelves bare. Coles capitalised on the warehouse strike at Woolworths by doubling down on its supply chain and hiring more people at its stores in Victoria and New South Wales, resulting in incremental sales of A$120 million. Sales at Coles' Supermarkets segment grew 4.3% during the first half, outpacing the 2.7% growth at Woolworths' Australian Food business. Coles was able to continue the momentum into the third quarter as sales revenue grew by 3.4% at Supermarkets over the first seven weeks, compared with a 3.3% growth at Woolworths' Australian Food. "Solid result with sales outperformance relative to Woolworths and strong margins," analysts at Jefferies said. "Coles and Woolworths sales are tracking at similar levels into third quarter, but Coles is cycling more demanding comparables, suggesting it has maintained leadership." Coles, Australia's second-largest supermarket chain, reported net profit after tax from continuing operations of A$576 million for the six months ended December 31, largely in line with the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$574.1 million. That compares with A$594 million it posted a year ago. On an underlying basis, profit came in at A$666 million, ahead of A$626 million reported last year. Coles declared an interim dividend of 37 Australian cents per share, its highest since at least fiscal 2019, and slightly higher than 36 Australian cents apiece distributed a year ago. Separately, Coles also announced its Chairman James Graham would retire from the board on April 30, and will be replaced by Peter Allen, a former chief executive officer at shopping malls operator Scentre Group. ($1 = 1.5873 Australian dollars) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Embattled founder Richard White takes on WiseTech chairman role, shares rise
By Sameer Manekar and Rajasik Mukherjee (Reuters) -Australian logistics software maker WiseTech Global appointed former CEO Richard White as its executive chairman on Wednesday, even as the firm's board and investors remain split over the billionaire founder's role following a flurry of controversies. The move comes as the company navigates a tumultuous period marked by media allegations of misconduct, corporate governance concerns and a sagging share price. WiseTech, which was founded by White in 1994, has seen its stock price whipsawed over the past few months, losing around 14% since last October, when the tech firm said it had been reviewing matters related to White. The media furore about White's personal life prompted the founder to step down and transition to a long-term consulting role in late October. Shares of the firm were trading 2.5% higher at A$96.91 per share, as of 0306 GMT. Earlier in the day, the stock rose as much as 8.4%, marking its best intraday percentage gain since October 25, 2024. Philip Pepe, a senior equities analyst at Shaw and Partners, noted that some investors would have been concerned if White had severed ties with the company, as he has been "instrumental in driving the product vision" at WiseTech. Chairman Richard Dammery along with three other directors are set to step down from the board due to "intractable differences" and "differing views" around White's role, the company said. Now appointed executive chairman, White will oversee succession planning, including finding a permanent CEO, alongside the nomination committee. Andrew Cartledge, former chief financial officer, is currently serving as the acting CEO. Separately, WiseTech also reported underlying net profit after tax of $112.1 million in the first half of fiscal 2025, a 34% jump from a year earlier, helped by strong growth in its flagship software CargoWise. ($1 = 1.5755 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Guzman y Gomez shares plunge as U.S. sales slow, underlying profit misses
By Sameer Manekar and Rishav Chatterjee (Reuters) -Mexican fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez on Friday reported first-half underlying earnings that missed estimates as declining sales at its U.S. outlets raised concerns about ambitions to break into the world's largest market. The company, which listed in Australia last year, reported underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of A$31.6 million ($20.21 million), missing a Visible Alpha consensus of A$32.5 million and UBS estimate of A$35.9 million. It logged an underlying net profit after tax of A$7.3 million, lower than market consensus of A$10.8 million. Shares in the quick-service restaurant, which offers popular menu items like the A$12 chicken meal, closed 14.3% lower at A$38.58 in Sydney and were set for their weakest trading session since July 2024. The stock fell to its lowest since February 6. Results from the firm's United States operations were mostly downbeat, with an underlying loss widening and network sales dropping by 12.7%. "The performance of the U.S. restaurants reflects the opportunity to increase brand awareness and improve the guest experience with network sales for the half decreasing," the company said in a statement. GYG raised about A$335.1 million in what was Australia's biggest initial public offering in three years. With much of the company's valuation hinging on future growth and the U.S. market's pivotal role in that trajectory, investors are increasingly concerned that its expansion across the Pacific could falter, prompting a wave of selling pressure. In a note on the results, RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said U.S. sales looked very soft relative to market expectations at about 25% below the bank's forecast. "We believe the current valuation hinges on a successful U.S. expansion and this may receive outsized attention from investors," he said. GYG also gave corporate restaurant margin and general and administrative network sales guidance for fiscal 2025, which was below what UBS had expected. On the bright side, GYG said it was on track to beat its prospectus profit estimates this financial year. The group's Australian restaurants posted a 9.4% same-store sales growth to A$573 million for the first half of the yeah, benefiting from strong demand for its breakfast menu and expanded trading hours at 11 stores. ($1 = 1.5637 Australian dollars)
