Singapore shares rise 0.3% on Tuesday as Jardine Matheson, banks gain

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Tuesday (Oct 13), even as declines outnumbered gains in the broader market.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent, or 15.02 points, to 5,430.50.

Hongkong Land led the gainers on the blue-chip index, rising 2.5 per cent, or US$0.20, to US$8.13.

Sats was the STI’s biggest decliner, falling 1.6 per cent, or S$0.06, to S$3.67.

Fellow Jardine group company Jardine Matheson was up 1.1 per cent, or US$0.59, at US$56.42.

This was after it announced a deal to buy out Balfour Beatty’s 50 per cent stake in construction group Gammon for £250 million (US$331 million), payable in three tranches to December 2028.

The conglomerate also raised its 2026 underlying earnings per share (EPS) guidance to US$5.50 to US$5.65, from an earlier expectation for flat earnings of about US$5.33 a share.

Macquarie analyst Jayden Vantarakis said the Gammon acquisition should be modestly accretive to earnings within the first year.

Gammon contributed US$53 million in profit after tax and minority interests to Jardine Matheson in FY2025, with Macquarie estimating the acquisition was struck at about six times trailing earnings.

SEE ALSO

Singapore shares rise as banks rebound after sell-off; STI up 0.3%

The brokerage added that Jardine Matheson’s upgraded guidance, implying underlying EPS growth of 3 to 5 per cent, reflected “continued solid performance” across its portfolio in the first nine months of 2026.

It maintained its “outperform” call and US$80 target price.

All three local banks finished higher. DBS gained 0.7 per cent, or S$0.53, to S$74.47; OCBC rose 0.5 per cent, or S$0.14, to S$29.20; and UOB was up 1.1 per cent, or S$0.43, at S$40.93.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 338 to 217, with 992.7 million securities worth S$1.9 billion changing hands.

Regional markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi sank 5.5 per cent.

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