AEM knocks DBS off pedestal as top value traded stock after crossing S$10 barrier

[SINGAPORE] Advanced semiconductor and electronics test solutions provider AEM overtook DBS in terms of total value of securities traded on Friday (May 15) as tech stocks continued their rally.

About S$47.3 million worth of AEM shares changed hands as at 9.40 am, compared with S$45.6 million for DBS – Singapore’s largest company by market capitalisation. South-east Asia’s biggest bank dominates the top spot because of its hefty S$60 price tag and active daily positions by global institutions and investors.

Shares of AEM rose as much as 7.8 per cent to S$10.68 in the first four minutes of trading on Friday.

AEM and smaller tech stocks such as Asti Holdings and Avi-Tech have been beating the Straits Times Index this year. The benchmark has lagged, falling just shy of 1 per cent in April while gaining only about 6.5 per cent year to date.

Analysts said that many semiconductor and precision-engineering firms listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) supply major US-listed technology companies, causing their share prices to move in tandem with those of global peers and customers.

Major tailwinds include the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence-linked chips and related test services. AEM stands out on investors’ radar after it announced a partnership with ASE Technology, the world’s largest provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test.

The Singapore companies’ strong earnings have flowed through to Singapore’s macro performance. Despite the geopolitical concerns triggered by the Middle East war, Singapore’s exports in March grew 15.3 per cent year on year, due to an AI-related electronics surge.

Analysts believe the tech rally still has legs, with Phillip Securities’ Chong Yik Ban expecting the gains to persist through the end of this year.

Systems integration specialist CSE Global’s shares hit an all-time high on Friday after reporting a 29.1 per cent rise in first quarter revenue the previous day.

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The counter climbed as much as S$0.14 to a peak of S$1.91 within the first 15 minutes of trading on Friday. It has been on a tear this year, having gained about 80 per cent since Dec 31. It has also been hitting new record highs since mid-April.

CSE’s S$265.2 million revenue was boosted by fresh demand from the data centre industry. Its first quarter order intake rose 74.6 per cent to S$271.2 million.

Alongside AEM and CSE’s gains on Friday, Frencken also added as much as 3.2 per cent and UMS Integration rose as much as 6.8 per cent.

Venture Corp was a notable outlier, rising about 0.2 per cent in the first few minutes of trading before reversing into a decline of as much as 0.7 per cent.