Singapore stocks rise as banks hit new highs; STI up 0.7%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Friday (Jul 10).

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.7 per cent or 35.41 points to finish at 5,469.29.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 5.9 per cent or S$0.20 to S$3.61.

The worst performer among STI constituents was Singapore Exchange (SGX), which fell 1.5 per cent or S$0.38 to S$24.24.

The local lenders hit new highs on Friday, breaking the records set just a day earlier.

DBS gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.22 to S$70.45, OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$27.43, and UOB was up 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 at S$44.38.

The increases in all three counters come as a surge of institutional capital into the Singapore market continues driving the Republic’s banks into uncharted territory.

SGX market strategist Geoff Howie noted that Singapore equities attracted S$611 million in net institutional inflows in June, reversing more than 40 per cent of cumulative net outflows recorded over the previous five months.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Centurion was the top gainer, rising 5.4 per cent or S$0.08 to S$1.56. PC Partner was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 3.1 per cent or S$0.08 to S$2.49.

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Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 350 to 221, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$2 billion changed hands.

Addvalue Technologies was the bourse’s most actively traded counter on Friday. It ended 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.132 with 73.9 million shares traded.

Key regional indices were in positive territory.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.6 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was up 2.5 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 0.8 per cent.

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