Singapore shares rise on Israel-Iran ceasefire and Wall St rally; STI up 0.7%

SINGAPORE - Local shares ended higher on June 24, tracking a rally on Wall Street after the US brokered a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.7 per cent, or 25.04 points, to 3,904.3. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 346 to 174, after 1.2 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.

Elsewhere in Asia, key indexes largely closed higher. The Hang Seng Index rose 2.1 per cent, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 per cent and the Kospi was up 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI lost 0.2 per cent.

Mr James Ooi, market strategist at Tiger Brokers, said there were already signs of a relatively muted market impact from the Israel-Iran conflict, and investors now appear to be pricing in a potential extension of the ceasefire.

But investors still need to remain cautious, he added, saying: “If the conflict re-escalates, particularly if oil prices spike again, it could reignite inflation fears and trigger renewed market volatility.”

In the meantime, market participants are likely to stay focused on larger macro drivers such as ongoing tariffs, deregulations, tax cuts, and US President Donald Trump’s anticipated “big, beautiful Bill”, he added.

On the STI, Jardine Matheson Holdings was the top gainer, rising 2.3 per cent to US$46.35.

Singtel was the biggest decliner, falling 1.5 per cent to $3.83.

The local banks were up. DBS Bank gained 1 per cent to $44.30, OCBC Bank rose 1.4 per cent to $16.16 and UOB closed 1.6 per cent higher at $35.32.

THE BUSINESS TIMES