Singapore stocks rise on Monday amid Trump’s latest tariff salvo; STI up 0.5%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Monday (Feb 23) as investors processed the news of US President Donald Trump’s latest global tariffs announced over the weekend.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.5 per cent or 23.73 points to finish at 5,041.33. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index remained almost flat at 1,520.5.

Key regional indices were mostly up. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.5 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.7 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 0.3 per cent.

This is the first trading day in Asia since Trump raised global tariffs to 15 per cent on Sunday, after setting their rate at 10 per cent a day prior. This followed the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down his sweeping reciprocal tariffs announced on so-called Liberation Day last year in April. 

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, noted that “the last couple of days has amplified uncertainty, which is weighing on risk”. 

“But overall, it seems unlikely that tariffs are going to get materially worse for companies and consumers than before the (Supreme Court) ruling, which should mean patience will pay off.”

Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Monday that Singapore’s core inflation eased to 1 per cent in January from 1.2 per cent in December, defying economists’ expectations for core inflation to rise to 1.5 per cent, based on a Bloomberg poll. 

Across the broader market in the Republic, gainers beat losers 335 to 243 on Monday, after 1.7 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 3.5 per cent or S$0.13 to end at S$3.86.

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The worst performer among STI constituents was Genting Singapore , which fell 2.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$0.79.

The three local banks ended mixed. DBS rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.16 to S$58.15, and UOB was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.20 at S$38.80. OCBC finished 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 lower at S$21.69.