Singapore stocks end higher amid mixed regional trading; STI up 0.5%

[SINGAPORE] Local stocks closed higher on Tuesday (Dec 30) as regional markets posted mixed results, with investors scaling back activity ahead of the New Year holiday.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.5 per cent or 21.74 points to finish at 4,655.38.

Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose 0.01 per cent or 0.18 point to 1,451.49.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 299 to 203, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changed hands.

Hong Kong-based conglomerate Jardine Matheson led the gainers on the STI, rising 2.5 per cent or US$1.66 to end at US$68.87.

Supermarket and retail store operator DFI Retail Group was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 1 per cent or US$0.04 to close at US$3.95.

The local banks ended Tuesday higher. DBS gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.30 to S$56.50, OCBC rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.14 to S$19.85, and UOB was up 0.4 per cent or S$0.15 at S$35.21.

Elsewhere in the region, key indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.9 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2 per cent.

On Wall Street, the major indices closed lower on Monday, starting the final week of the year on softer footing. The pullback came as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week’s rally, which had propelled the S&P 500 to record highs.

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Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, noted that stocks are struggling to sustain the enthusiasm seen last week.

This comes as investors trim risk exposure following two consecutive sessions of record highs on the S&P 500, amid fragile geopolitical developments in Caracas and Kyiv.

“The three-year run in stocks has been terrific, and annual appreciation rates of nearly 20 per cent would certainly be something that the investing community could get used to,” said Torres.

“Indeed, 2023 and 2024 both delivered returns of over 23 per cent, and after a stellar 2025, participants are geared up for another strong year in 2026.”

However, he cautioned that there is “good reason to believe that performance could be more tempered going forward, as valuation expansion has its limits and the set-up is conducive to a period of muted gains or a so-called flat year, allowing Wall Street to digest the advances of preceding periods”.