Convertibles steady in post-holiday trading; Newmont weaker on swap; SINA follows market

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Nov. 28 – The convertible bond market was treading water on the first trading day back from the long holiday weekend.

“Light earnings week and not a lot of top line new stories,” a trader said. However, he did note that there was “good two-way flow, mostly from outright trading.”

A trader said Newmont Mining Corp. was the day’s top trader, though there was “no real catalyst for trading.”

He pegged the issue at 103.875 versus a share price of $33.43, which he deemed off 0.25 point on swap. For its part, the equity was up over 4.79% on the day.

While there were no specific headlines on Newmont, oil prices were volatile as talks between OPEC and non-OPEC producers were not appearing to go well ahead of a formal meeting planned for Wednesday.

Domestic crude improved 1.8%, though it was up as much as 3% on the day.

Elsewhere, SINA Corp.’s 1% convertible notes due 2018 were about unchanged, for instance, trading around 100.125. The stock has been trending up since last Tuesday, when the Chinese online media company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

The equity continued that trend on Monday, rising $2.04, or 2.63%, to $79.52.

On Nov. 22, SINA reported a 21.7% climb in adjusted quarterly revenue. That was helped by a 21% gain in online advertising revenue.

Trina Solar Ltd.’s convertibles were weaker on the day, as a vote to take the company private loomed.

The 4% convertible senior notes due 2019 closed at 93.3, which compared to opening levels of 94.875, according to a market source. Another source placed the 3.5% convertible senior notes due 2019 in a 95 to 96 context, a loss of 4 points outright.

The underlying shares declined 84 cents, or 8.38%, to $9.18.

A group led by Trina’s founder and chairman, Jifan Gao, has offered to take the company private for $11.60 per each American Depositary Share.

It is unclear why the convertibles – or the equity for that matter – were under pressure, though it could be because there is an expectation the $1.1 billion private takeover plan will fail to gain shareholder approval.

It should also be noted that the company did not hold a conference call for its latest earnings release on Nov. 23.

Mentioned in this article:

Newmont Mining Corp. NYSE: NEM

SINA Corp. Nasdaq: SINA

Trina Solar Ltd. NYSE: TSL

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