* Index declines nearly 1 percent
* Neptune Orient leads losses after poor Q4 earnings
By Charmian Kok
SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Singapore shares fell by midday, hurt by weaker-than-expected company earnings and after regional markets eased following weak European economic data.
Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), the world's sixth biggest container shipping firm, plummeted by as much as 11.2 percent to a five-week low after reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly quarterly loss of $320 million, hit by high fuel costs and lower freight rates.
"They missed our expectations. Freight rates have collapsed in the last quarter, although bunk prices continued to trend up," said Derrick Heng, an analyst at Phillip Securities.
By 0500 GMT, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 1 percent, or 29.99 points, at 2,965.60. Around 1.3 billion shares worth S$1.2 billion were traded.
"Investors are getting more jittery, as we saw several corporate earnings from large blue chips that were quite disappointing," said Andrew Chow, head of research at UOB Kay Hian, citing results from palm oil firm Wilmar International Ltd and Neptune Orient.
"Investors could be wondering if this is a sign of more disappointment to come," he said.
Stock markets in Asia were lower as focus moved back to growth and high oil prices.
By midday, NOL recovered some of its losses and was down 7 percent at S$1.325.
"We've seen some rate improvements in the first quarter but I don't think it's enough to make liners profitable this year," said Heng, who has a reduce rating on the stock.
Wilmar, the world's largest listed palm oil firm, also reported disappointing earnings, sending its shares plunging by 11 percent on Wednesday and eased 1 percent on Thursday.
Shares in casino operator Genting Singapore fell fall by nearly 4 percent after some analysts said its fourth quarter earnings missed their expectations.
Citigroup said Genting's fourth quarter earnings were a huge miss, and it cut its target price to S$1.47 from S$1.50 and maintained its sell rating. (Editing by Anshuman Daga)
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