Singapore stocks end Feb 19 higher on UOB earnings, Budget news; STI adds 0.2%

SINGAPORE – Local investors had few leads from Wall Street to go on, so focused instead on company earnings reports and Budget 2025 to send shares inching up on Feb 19.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 8.48 points or 0.2 per cent to 3,934.04 after hitting a record 3,943.23 earlier in the day.

Losers beat gainers 269 to 254 on trade of 1.4 billion securities worth $1.5 billion.

The index was led by maritime player Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which gained 2.2 per cent to $3.20, while agribusiness Wilmar International was at the other end of the scale, falling 2.5 per cent to $3.18.

Local bank UOB dipped 0.2 per cent to $38.58, after posting net profit of $1.52 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, a number that beat a $1.48 billion consensus forecast in a six-analyst Bloomberg poll.

The lender also announced a $3 billion capital distribution package to distribute surplus capital over the next three years, comprising special dividends and share buybacks.

OCBC Investment Research raised its fair value estimate for UOB to $41.50, as it revised earnings estimates for 2025 and 2026 to take into account fewer interest rate cuts and better fee income.

The other local banks were in the black. DBS Bank added 0.5 per cent to $46.04, while OCBC Bank rose 0.5 per cent to $17.85.

Regional markets ended mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.1 per cent and Malaysian shares dipped 0.3 per cent but Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.7 per cent.

Australian shares were the day’s biggest losers, down 0.7 per cent on concerns that the big banks are facing stronger competition for mortgages and deposits.

Wall Street was lacklustre overnight, but the three indexes all rose. The S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent for its second record high close of 2025 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq both advanced 0.1 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES