Singapore shares rise, tracking regional gains; STI up 0.6%
The optimism here sent the benchmark STI up 0.6 per cent or 21.68 points to 3,925.98 with gainers easily outpacing losers 333 to 170 on robust trade of 1.5 billion securities worth $1.5 billion. PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – The stability of the cease-fire between Israel and Iran has plenty of sceptics but there were enough true believers across major regional markets to drive shares higher on June 25.
The optimism here sent the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.6 per cent or 21.68 points to 3,925.98 with gainers easily outpacing losers 333 to 170 on robust trade of 1.5 billion securities worth $1.5 billion.
Wall Street set the direction of travel overnight, where stocks put on gains after the cease-fire seemed to hold firm.
The tech-focused Nasdaq led the way, surging 1.4 per cent, while the Dow Industrials rose 1.2 per cent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 per cent and is now within touching distance of the record close recorded in February.
Oil prices went the other way, falling 6 per cent, and are now below the level when fighting began earlier this month.
Regional bourses mostly followed in similar fashion. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.4 per cent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 per cent.
Australian stocks swung between gains and losses throughout the day and ended virtually flat.
Mr Nigel Green, chief executive of global financial advisory company deVere Group, noted that global markets were 'dangerously relaxed' over the wider global risk of the conflict between Iran and Israel.
For instance, equity markets are not showing the 'defensive rotation' expected of investors when there are many risk indicators.
He called on investors to adjust their allocations to provide more downside protection and global diversification.
Meanwhile, the STI's top gainer was the Singapore Exchange, which climbed 3.7 per cent to $14.41, while the losers were led by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, down 1.4 per cent to $2.19.
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was the most actively traded blue-chip counter by volume, with 90.5 million units changing hands. The units closed at $2.15, up 0.5 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
38 minutes ago
- Business Times
New listings on SGX may reinforce positive sentiment
[SINGAPORE] Markets around the world are poised to end the first half of 2025 on a bullish note this week. On Friday (Jun 27), the S&P 500, Stoxx Europe 600, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng indices were in positive territory on a year-to-date basis, and as much as 29 per cent above the lows to which they slumped in April amid the 'Liberation Day' sell-off. This seems remarkable in light of the looming Jul 9 deadline for nations around the world to hammer out trade deals with the United States in order to escape its crippling 'reciprocal tariffs', not to mention the recent heightened turmoil in the Middle East. There is a palpable sense of optimism in the Singapore market too. The Straits Times Index (STI) ended last week at 3,966.2, up 4.7 per cent since the beginning of the year, and 16.9 per cent above its Apr 9 low. Underscoring the growing confidence in the market was a flurry of headlines last week about new listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). On Jun 23, interior fit-outs contractor Lum Chang Creations lodged a preliminary prospectus for a listing on Catalist. The following day, on Jun 24, Hong Kong-listed China Medical System said it is proposing a secondary listing by way of introduction on the mainboard of SGX. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Then, on Jun 27, a real estate investment trust backed by Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone lodged a preliminary listing prospectus. NTT DC Reit will have an initial portfolio of six data centres – four in the US, one in Austria and one in Singapore – worth approximately US$1.6 billion. With a pipeline of 'high conviction' potential acquisitions from its sponsor group, the Reit could double its size within five years. Among NTT DC Reit's cornerstone investors is Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. Another imminent new listing is Info-Tech Systems, which provides human resource management and accounting software to SMEs. The company deploys its software products via the cloud, under a 'software as a service' model. According to its Jun 27 prospectus, nearly 24.9 million shares will be sold to investors at S$0.87 each, comprising 5.6 million new shares and 19.2 million vendor shares. Including new shares sold to cornerstone investors, the company will rake in gross proceeds totalling S$28.7 million. Info-Tech Systems is scheduled to begin trading SGX's mainboard on Jul 4. At its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.87 per share, the company is valued at S$224.5 million, or 18.2 times its earnings for 2024 of S$12.3 million. New listings, new hope Companies are generally careful to come to market only when they can obtain a decent valuation of their shares. Indeed, candy maker YLF Group Marketing withdrew its plans to list on the Catalist board in April, in the wake of the Liberation Day sell-off. YLF would have been only the second company to list in Singapore this year after parallel car importer Vin's Holdings. Yet, the arrival of prominent new listings may also help reinforce the currently positive market sentiment. For instance, NTT DC Reit could help draw global capital to the Singapore market, given its focus on a hot asset class and the stature of its sponsor group. One could argue that GIC's participation as a cornerstone investor is clear evidence of NTT DC Reit's international relevance. After all, the equities market review group set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in February that it would not recommend GIC's funds be used to boost trading liquidity on SGX. 'GIC's mission is to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of Singapore's reserves,' said MAS deputy chairman Chee Hong Tat, who is also chairman of the review group. Despite its much smaller size, Info-Tech Systems could also be a positive addition to the local bourse. With its technology flavour and solid profitability, it might well garner a stronger following among local investors than the last company to list on the mainboard – namely, 17Live Group. The live-streaming platform operator listed in late 2023 by combining itself with Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp. At its Friday closing price, 17Live had a market capitalisation of just S$188 million – lower than the value at which Info-Tech Systems is coming to market this week. A more vibrant IPO scene could also support value-unlocking initiatives in the corporate sector, and spur investor interest in the numerous asset-rich companies in the Singapore market with depressed share prices. Back in November last year, Lum Chang Holdings couched the listing of its interior fit-outs business as a means of unlocking the value of the fast-growing unit. The group also mooted the possibility of a distribution-in-specie of some of its shares in the spun-out entity. Lum Chang Creations' preliminary prospectus showed its earnings for the six months to Dec 31 increased 61.6 per cent to S$5.3 million, on the back of a 16 per cent rise in revenue to S$40.8 million. This past month alone, Lum Chang Holdings' shares have rallied nearly 20 per cent. The stock closed last Friday at S$0.365 – still a 16.4 per cent discount to the group's net asset value as at Dec 31 of S$0.437 per share. Tariff impact looms To be clear, I'm not suggesting that Lum Chang Creations, Info-Tech Systems, or even NTT DC Reit will deliver market-beating returns over time. In fact, I am generally cautious when companies initially list, for fear they might have been more than fully valued at their IPOs. Investors should probably also keep an eye on the shifting global macroeconomic picture. This column has previously suggested that lofty valuations in the US market and erratic policymaking by the Trump administration could drive global capital towards European and Asian markets. Yet, protracted uncertainty surrounding the US trade tariffs may paralyse spending and investing decisions and weigh on global growth, which would probably be negative for markets everywhere. On Jun 18, the US Federal Reserve's summary of economic projections suggested a growing expectation of softer US growth and more stubborn inflation, as the effects of higher tariffs work their way through the system. The median projection among participants at the recent Fed meeting is still for two 25-basis-point rate cuts in 2025; but seven of the 19 participants actually projected no rate cuts while two participants projected only a single cut. Back in March, only four of the 19 participants were projecting no rate cuts, while a further four were projecting just one cut. Fed chairman Jerome Powell said the uncertain outlook for the US economy was causing a divergence of projections, and that things would become clearer over time. 'No one holds these rate paths with a great deal of conviction, and everyone would agree that they're all going to be data dependent.' Against this backdrop, investors in Singapore should not be complacent. While market sentiment has improved dramatically since April and the pace of new listings seems to be picking up, everything could still turn on a dime.
Business Times
19 hours ago
- Business Times
Billionaire Michael Dell reaps US$1.2 billion from stock sale
[NEW YORK] Dell Technologies chief executive Michael Dell sold US$1.2 billion worth of shares in his namesake computer company, reducing his stake by about 3 per cent, according to a Friday (Jun 27) filing. Dell, 60, is the 12th-richest person in the world with a fortune of US$135.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Even after the sale, in which he offloaded 10 million shares, he still owns a stake in the computing giant worth nearly US$39 billion. About a third of the billionaire's fortune is in Dell Technologies stock, including shares held by his wife's trust, while the remainder is primarily held in Broadcom stock and cash proceeds from prior share sales. The sale follows a familiar pattern for Dell, who also sold two blocks of 10 million shares in September, generating more than US$2.3 billion. His company's stock is up more than 9 per cent since May 29, when it gave a profit outlook for the year that beat estimates. It also told investors it had seen a significant increase in orders for servers to run artificial-intelligence (AI) networks. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies has been undergoing a renaissance as of late, gaining more than 50 per cent last year and rejoining the S&P 500 Index after a decade-long absence off the back of a surge in revenue tied to its AI server business. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
21 hours ago
- Business Times
Best performing S-Reits post double-digit total returns in H1
[SINGAPORE] The S-Reit sector delivered a stable performance in the first half of 2025, with the iEdge S-Reit index gaining 0.6 per cent to 1,010.73 as at Thursday (Jun 26), and dividends taking the index total returns to 3.2 per cent for the period. More than half the 30 constituents on the iEdge S-Reit index delivered positive total returns in the first six months of the year, and the top five performers delivered double-digit total returns over the period. These outperformers were Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT), CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT), First Reit , Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) and Parkway Life Reit. Their year-to-date total returns ranged between 10 and 21.4 per cent as at Thursday. Most of the outperformers in the first half reported robust operating performance with stable occupancy and positive rental reversions. FCT's revenue and net property income (NPI) grew by 7.1 per cent and 7.3 per cent on year to S$184.4 million and S$133.7 million, respectively, in H1 2025. This growth was primarily driven by increased occupancy and passing rent across its portfolio of malls, and the completion of asset enhancement initiatives at Tampines 1. Distribution per unit (DPU) grew 0.5 per cent to S$0.06054. Similarly, ParkwayLife Reit reported higher gross revenue in Q1 2025, arising from the contribution of nursing homes acquired in Japan and France. Its DPU rose 1.3 per cent to S$0.0384. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up On a like-for-like basis, CICT charted growth in Q1 gross revenue and NPI of 1.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, and it continued achieving higher signing rents for new and renewed leases. FHT's outperformance came on the back of a proposed privatisation. The Reit sector trades at compelling valuations relative to its historical average. As of end-May, the forward dividend yield for the FTSE ST Reit Index was around 6.4 per cent, representing a yield spread of nearly four percentage points to benchmark 10-year Singapore Government Bond yields, higher than the 10-year average. In terms of price-to-book ratio, the sector trades under 0.8 times, below the 10-year average of 1.0 times. The strongest performing S-Reits on the iEdge S-Reit index in the first half of 2025 were also among those with the highest price-to-book ratios currently. The top seven performers in H1 have price-to-book ratios of between 1.0 and 1.7 times, higher than the sector average. For the first half of 2025, retail investors were net buyers of S-Reits, with the sector receiving total net inflow of around S$400 million as at Jun 26. Institutional investors were net sellers of S-Reits over the period, with over S$500 million in net outflows. However, some S-Reits (including CICT, FHT and ParkwayLife Reit) bucked the trend and recorded net institutional inflows in H1. Institutions have also been net-buying the Reit sector in recent weeks with more than S$100 million in net inflows for the five sessions to Jun 26. As the second half approaches, investors will be watching for the path of interest rates as well as continued operational resilience. While the US Federal Reserve has so far not cut interest rates in 2025, expectations are for several rate cuts to come later in the year. In Singapore, domestic interest rates have also been falling, with the three-month compounded Singapore Overnight Rate Average slipping from 3.0227 on Jan 2 to 2.0797 on Jun 26. Analysts watching the sector have noted that the decline in local borrowing rates has not triggered significant unit price movements for the sector thus far. However, investor sentiment may improve if global interest rates abroad are eventually cut. The writer is a research analyst at SGX. For more research and information on Singapore's Reit sector, visit for the S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.
