Singapore shares climb as banks advance; STI up 0.5%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Thursday (Sep 17).

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.5 per cent or 25.11 points to finish at 5,660.52.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 1.8 per cent or S$0.09 to S$5.14.

The worst performer among STI constituents was DFI Retail Group , which fell 1.2 per cent or US$0.04 to US$3.41.

The three local banks ended higher. DBS gained 0.2 per cent or S$0.14 to S$76.94, OCBC rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$31.28, and UOB was up 1.6 per cent or S$0.67 at S$41.88.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, UltraGreen.ai was the top gainer, rising 9.9 per cent or US$0.055 to US$0.61, while PC Partner was the biggest loser, falling 3.2 per cent or S$0.10 to S$3.04.

Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 276 to 232, after 1.3 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.

Addvalue Tech was the most actively traded stock with 232.1 million shares changing hands. DBS was the most actively traded stock in terms of value, with 2.7 million shares worth S$205.7 million traded.

Key regional indices were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.4 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.04 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.3 per cent.

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Gunawan Wijaya, portfolio manager for prime brokerage and investment solutions at CGS International Securities Singapore, said a higher interest rate environment raises equity risk premiums, which could dampen investors’ appetite for riskier assets such as equities and push them towards defensive assets such as cash.

Still, the STI has held up well, supported by strong inflows into the domestic equity market and its “safe-haven characteristics”, he said.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter