CFS, Energy Stocks Are Most `Attractive' This Month, Citi Says

By Kyung Bok Cho

July 18 (Bloomberg) -- CFS Retail Property Trust and PT Bumi Resources are among this month's most attractive stocks in Asia excluding Japan, Citigroup Inc. said.

The stocks will outperform based on valuations and the momentum of their share prices and earnings revisions, Citi analysts including Paul Chanin said in a report dated yesterday. Energy has surpassed banks as the most attractive industry, while the sector with the least potential is semiconductors, the analysts said.

CFS, an Australian shopping-center owner, is a ``defensive'' stock that will likely outperform as other Asian stocks decline, while Bumi, Indonesia's biggest coal producer, will benefit from ``firm'' regional demand, Citi said.

This month's least attractive stocks include Shopper's Stop Ltd., which runs a chain of department stores in India, as it has ``negative earnings momentum,'' the brokerage said. Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., the Chinese partner of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, has valuations that are ``stretched,'' Citi also said.

To contact the reporter for this story: Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net