Singapore stocks continue record run; STI up 0.4%
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The benchmark Straits Times Index gained 21.41 points to finish at 4,965.50.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Renald Yeo
- Singapore's STI hit a record high for the second day, gaining 0.4% to close at 4,965.50, while the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose 0.6%.
- Regional indexes were mixed, with Asian stocks largely avoiding the sell-off in US and European software makers, according to SPI Asset Management.
- Wilmar led gainers, rising 2.7%, while Mapletree Industrial Trust fell 2.4%; local banks DBS, OCBC, and UOB all closed higher.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Singapore stocks ended higher on Feb 4, with the local bourse closing at a record high for the second straight session.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.4 per cent or 21.41 points to finish at 4,965.50. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.6 per cent or 8.83 points to 1,498.18.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 280 to 272, after 1.2 billion securities worth $1.6 billion changed hands.
Key regional indexes were mixed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended flat, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.3 per cent.
Asian stocks have largely avoided the ongoing sell-off in US and European software makers so far, after artificial intelligence player Anthropic released a legal plug-in for its Claude AI service on Feb 3 that spooked investors, wrote Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“US software baskets took their worst hit since the tariff scare and the shockwave crossed the Pacific on autopilot,” he said in a Feb 4 note. “Asia followed briefly out of habit, then stopped obeying.”
Wilmar led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 2.7 per cent or nine cents to end at $3.46.
The worst performer among STI constituents was Mapletree Industrial Trust, with units falling 2.4 per cent or five cents to close at $2.04.
The three local banks ended higher. DBS Bank gained 0.5 per cent or 28 cents to $59.33, OCBC Bank rose 0.8 per cent or 16 cents to $21.44, and UOB added 0.4 per cent or 16 cents to $38.59. THE BUSINESS TIMES
