Sats, Venture are top STI performers in record-setting May

[SINGAPORE] Sats and Venture Corp led gains on the Straits Times Index (STI) in May, as the benchmark index finished the month “modestly higher” with a total return of 3.3 per cent, said Singapore Exchange (SGX) Research on Tuesday (Jun 2). 

Gains in selected large-capitalisation stocks were partly offset by mixed performance across industrial and smaller-cap counters. Meanwhile, indices for Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) were marginally softer over the month.

About a quarter of the STI’s total return for May was contributed by dividends.

STI’s total returns in the first five months of the year was 10.8 per cent.

The index’s performance came amid a “resilient” macroeconomic backdrop, supported by firm gross domestic product growth, said SGX.

Stable industrial output, sustained momentum of non-oil domestic exports and artificial intelligence-linked demand also contributed to the index’s performance – which hit a fresh record high of 5,102.07 on May 25.

Sats was the top performer among the STI constituents in May, posting a price gain of 16.7 per cent. The cargo handler and in-flight caterer reported a record FY2026 revenue, with net profit rising 17 per cent from a year earlier. 

Technology solutions provider Venture was the second best-performing STI stock in May, gaining 11.1 per cent, partly supported by its return to year-on-year revenue growth.

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT) was the strongest-performing Reit among the STI counters in May, rising 4.2 per cent. 

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On May 25, FLCT entered agreements to acquire four logistics and industrial properties in Germany and the Netherlands for 294.9 million euros (S$438.9 million), adding about 179,600 square metres of fully leased space with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.7 years. 

Institutional flows into Singapore equities remained positive in May, with DBS Group booking S$637 million of net institutional inflows, reducing its accumulated 2026 net institutional outflow to S$1.47 billion.

Across the 30 STI constituents, there was a combined S$78 million of net institutional inflows, with technology stocks accounting for a significant share of inflow momentum.

iEdge Next 50 performance

The iEdge Next 50 Liquidity Index – which tracks the performance of the 50 largest companies that are listed on the SGX mainboard, after those on the STI – generated a 2.5 per cent total return in May, bringing its five-month total return to 12.2 per cent.

UMS Integration led the index in May, climbing 28.4 per cent. 

The precision engineering group’s first quarter FY2026 results showed revenue rising 20 per cent year on year to S$69.4 million, while net profit increased 43 per cent to S$14 million. The improvement was driven by stronger sales across its semiconductor, aerospace and other business segments, as well as foreign exchange gains.

In contrast, the iEdge S-Reit Index – which tracks the performance of Reits listed on SGX – declined 0.7 per cent during the month, extending its five-month decline to 3.7 per cent.

Separately, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Liquidity Weighted Index delivered a 9.7 per cent total return over the first five months of 2026.

The index tracks the 50 stocks ranked just below the STI. It mirrors the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index but is weighted by liquidity instead of market capitalisation.

Technology stocks continued to gain prominence within the liquidity-weighted index, with four technology counters accounting for 23 per cent of its weighting as at the end of May, up from 19 per cent six weeks earlier.

In addition, NetLink NBN Trust , NTT DC Reit and Digital Core Reit together represented a further 7 per cent of the index by weight.