Singapore shares soar on rally led by banks

SINGAPORE shares soared on Friday (Jul 28), amid mixed markets in Asia and overnight Wall Street losses.

The Straits Times Index (STI) closed 33.75 points or 1 per cent higher at 3,371.17 points for the day, making it four straight sessions of a higher finish. The gauge for blue chips closed 2.8 per cent up week on week.

The STI’s banking stocks contributed to the better showing, with OCBC rising 1.2 per cent to S$13.22, UOB surging 3.4 per cent to S$29.89 and DBS up 1.5 per cent to S$34.26.

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) closed 0.8 per cent higher at S$7.58, a day after it reported a record quarterly net profit of S$734 million, up 98.4 per cent from the S$370 million net profit for the corresponding period in the preceding fiscal year.

A note from Phillip Securities stated that the research team expects a deceleration in yields for both passenger and cargo as other carriers add flight capacity and air travel demand eases. Higher crew and manpower costs could weigh on SIA’s performance, so a “reduce” recommendation was made on the counter, with a S$6.80 target price. 

Formerly Sembcorp Marine, Seatrium closed 2.1 per cent lower at S$0.143, on the back of its announcement before market open that its net loss had deepened to S$264.4 million for its first half to June, from S$142.9 million the year earlier. The counter, with 671.3 million units changing hands, was the most active stock.

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Gainers beat losers, with 325 counters up and 276 lower across the broader market. Turnover was 1.7 billion securities, with a total transactional value of about S$1.6 billion.