DBS leads STI up 1% as Singapore shares end Wednesday higher

SINGAPORE stocks gained ground on Wednesday (Feb 7), with DBS : D05 0% leading the pack after it announced record full-year earnings for FY2023.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended up 1 per cent or 30.47 points to 3,156.15.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 293 to 258, as close to 1.4 billion shares worth S$1.2 billion were traded.

DBS was the most traded stock by value, with 10.7 million shares worth nearly S$346.8 million changing hands. The counter rose 2.5 per cent or S$0.80 to S$32.45.

Singapore’s largest bank on Wednesday posted full-year net profit of S$10.06 billion, up 23 per cent year on year.

The other local banks also ended higher. OCBC : O39 0% rose 1.5 per cent or S$0.19 to S$12.97, while UOB : U11 0% increased 0.4 per cent or S$0.10 to S$28.27.

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After DBS, the second highest gainer on the STI was food processing player Wilmar International : F34 0%, which climbed 1.8 per cent or S$0.06 to S$3.34.

On the other end of the blue-chip barometer, shipbuilding company Seatrium : S51 0% sank 4.2 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.092.

In other regional markets, key indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.3 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched down 0.1 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index was up 1.3 per cent.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was nearly flat, edging up 0.01 per cent.

Meanwhile, stronger quarterly earnings in the United States resulted in overnight Wall Street gains.

Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said: “While the market debates the timing of expected rate cuts, the nearly-priced-to-perfect inflation stability until the end of 2023 is positive.

“The neutral level remains debatable, with the US yield curve’s belly clustering in the low 4 per cent range.”