STI ends 1.2% higher on upbeat mood across region, ahead of national Budget

SINGAPORE shares soared on Thursday (Feb 15), as the upbeat mood across the region driven by domestic factors spilled over, ahead of the unveiling of its own national Budget on Friday.

The Straits Times Index advanced 37.62 points or 1.2 per cent to 3,176.69, following overnight gains on Wall Street, as markets shrugged off the previous day’s dampener – a hot and sticky January inflation print – as a one-off aberration.

Singapore’s gross domestic product growth for the final quarter of 2023 was revised downwards by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Thursday. Nomura Global Markets Research said despite that, Singapore’s growth remains on an “improving path”.

The house has forecast a growth of 3 per cent in 2024 – the upper end of the official forecast range – underpinned by a turnaround in manufacturing amid the global tech upcycle, which should eventually lift the services sector. 

There were several exuberant spots across the region. The day’s standout performer was Taiwan, whose key index finished at a record high after climbing spectacularly by more than 3 per cent following a more-than-week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The big gains were driven chiefly by heavyweight technology stocks amid rising optimism over an imminent artificial intelligence boom. This wave had also led Japan’s Nikkei 225 to end the day 1.2 per cent higher.

Indonesian stocks raced to their highest in over a month on Thursday after Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in the country’s presidential election, ending months of uncertainty.

Most other key gauges in the region closed higher except for South Korea.

Across the broader market in Singapore, turnover stood at 1.7 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners 312 to 257.

The day’s gains were led by Singapore’s banking stalwarts. DBS rose S$0.76 or 2.3 per cent to S$33.33, OCBC was up S$0.17 or 1.3 per cent at S$13.12, while UOB advanced S$0.44 or 1.6 per cent to S$28.76.

Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (Kore) was hammered, falling US$0.099 or nearly 40 per cent to US$0.151 after the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) manager said it was suspending distributions beginning in the second half of FY2023 to the second half of 2025 to provide “significantly more capital” to Kore over the next two years.

The counter was the day’s fifth most active with 39 million units traded.

Far East Hospitality Trust (FEHT) gained S$0.005 or 0.8 per cent to S$0.64. DBS Group Research deemed the trust, which owns the only pure-play Singapore hospitality portfolio within the S-Reit sector, as a key proxy to Singapore’s tourism recovery.

The house expects FEHT to see a “golden year ahead” with Singapore maintaining record-high revenue per available room (RevPar) since mid-2022. It has maintained a “buy” on the counter and raised target price to S$0.80 from S$0.75.