Singapore stocks rise amid mixed regional trading, STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE – Shares here and elsewhere enjoyed sessions of relative calm on June 26 after a tumultuous period that has roiled global bourses.

The outcome for the Straits Times Index (STI) was a modest rise of 0.3 per cent or 12.48 points to 3,938.46 with gainers outpacing losers 294 to 185 on trade of 1.2 billion securities worth $1.3 billion.

The muted theme was set overnight on Wall Street where investors were growing increasingly confident about the

Israel-Iran ceasefire

.

The key indexes were mixed but are still hovering at near record levels. The S&P 500 was unchanged, the Dow industrials fell 0.2 per cent while the Nasdaq inched up 0.3 per cent.

There was more movement in the region. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6 per cent and the Kospi in Seoul declined 0.9 per cent but the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo surged 1.7 per cent while Malaysian shares rose 0.6 per cent.

Australia’s ASX 200 closed flat as investors dumped technology and property stocks.

Mr Barnabas Gan, group chief economist and head of market research at RHB, noted that market sentiment has rebounded as global economic conditions modestly improved amid tariff de-escalation.

If this trend holds, it would be reasonable to expect fewer interest rate cuts, a more sustained appetite for risk and upward revisions to regional economic growth, Mr Gan added.

But he warned that it is only a short period before reciprocal tariff suspensions expire.

“In this context, we maintain a tactical overweight in equities and market weight in fixed income... but remain ready to pivot back into safe havens should trade risks re-emerge,” he said.

Meanwhile, DFI Retail Group was STI’s the top gainer, rising 2.6 per cent to US$2.75, while ST Engineering led the losers, down 1 per cent to $7.87.

Local banks were mixed: OCBC Bank gained 0.2 per cent to $16.23; UOB rose 0.4 per cent to $35.85; but DBS Bank lost 0.4 per cent to $44.42.

THE BUSINESS TIMES