Shares of Keppel Corp Ltd jumped as much as 3.6 percent after brokers issued upbeat notes on the company following a record $4.1 billion Brazil rig order.

Maybank Kim Eng raised Keppel's target price to S$13.20 from S$12.60, and kept its buy rating to reflect Keppel's strong contract wins, which it said could exceed $10 billion this year.

"Assuming that the contracts are in the bag, 2012 could be a record year of order wins for Keppel's Offshore & Marine segment," the broker said, estimating that the rigbuilder's current net order book would be about $11.8 billion.

Keppel rose to S$11.64 and was the top traded stock by value in the market. Shares in smaller rival Sembcorp Marine Ltd gained 1.9 percent on expectations of more rig orders.

The FT ST Oil & Gas index has surged 29 percent this year versus a 13 percent rise in the broader market . OCBC Investment Research also increased its target price for Keppel to S$13.38 from S$12.27, while keeping its buy rating, and raised its order win estimate to S$10.2 billion.

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0945 (0145 GMT)

(Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com)