[SINGAPORE] The Straits Times Index (STI) achieved multiple highs in the first quarter of 2025, driven by factors such as investors flocking to safe havens and fresh records hit by the banks.
The index briefly crossed 4,000 for the first time on Mar 28, reaching an all-time high of 4,005.18 points.
In Q1 2025, the benchmark index had 22 gainers and eight decliners, data from the Singapore Exchange showed.
There were several key driving factors behind this performance. The trio of local banks DBS, UOB and OCBC have also hit several highs in the past year. Their weightage in the index has increased even further, up from about 40 per cent in 2019, to 54 per cent currently.
At the domestic level, observers also attributed it to above-trend gross domestic product growth which is supportive for companies. Economists estimated that Singapore’s economy grew by 3.8 per cent year on year in Q1 2025, following GDP growth of 4.4 per cent in 2024.
Dividend distributions also boosted the STI’s total return to 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
In addition, the US Federal Reserve maintained its interest rate policy range of 4.25 to 4.5 per cent at its recent March meeting, in line with expectations, while signalling two potential rate cuts in 2025.
As at the Apr 1 close, the STI fell back to 3,968.85 – a year-to-date jump of more than 20 per cent.
Banks might have hit fresh highs and driven the benchmark index to new territory. However, they did not appear among the top names with the highest total returns in the first quarter. DBS took eighth place, UOB came in at 14th and OCBC ranked 18th.
These companies took the top five spots:
1. ST Engineering
The company led the index in Q1 2025 with a 45.7 per cent rally, with its share price hitting S$6.79. It is one of the largest blue-chip gainers.
It maintains a robust return on equity (ROE) of 26 per cent, and its order book now stands at S$28.5 billion, with S$8.8 billion expected to be delivered in 2025.
For the first quarter of 2025, analysts have been bullish on the company, citing strong growth prospects.
This has fuelled the counter’s price-earnings ratio to around 30, ahead of other blue-chip stocks such as Singapore Airlines and the three banks.
In recent times, ST Engineering and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency have incorporated a joint venture company Codex Solutions, with an initial paid-up capital of S$10 million.
The group has eyed a revenue of S$17 billion and a higher profit margin by 2029, following its S$11.3 billion revenue and S$702.3 million in net profit figures for the 2024 financial year.
New venture areas the company has been looking at include construction robotics, decentralised hydrogen production and marine renewables.
The counter was trading 2.1 per cent or S$0.14 lower at S$6.70, as at 11.43 am.
2. Sembcorp Industries
The energy and urban development company has witnessed an uptrend in its share price this first quarter, crossing the S$6.03 mark on Feb 27. It had a 15 per cent total return and a strong ROE figure of 20.3 per cent.
The company doubled its dividends in light of higher earnings, having reported a 14 per cent rise in total net profit to S$471 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2024, from S$412 million in the year-ago period.
On Apr 2, Sembcorp Industries proposed an acquisition in energy supplier Senoko Energy that could potentially more than double its interest in the company.
Its subsidiaries and state-owned utilities company Sarawak Energy also recently entered an agreement with Prysmian for a hydropower project that could supply Singapore with 1 gigawatt (GW) of green electricity from the Malaysian state. This comes after Singapore raised its low-carbon electricity import target to 6 GW by 2035, up from 4 GW set in 2021.
As at 11.41 am, the counter was trading S$0.09 or 1.4 per cent higher at S$6.51.
3. UOL Group
The property player has been up and coming in the first quarter of 2025, hitting a recent high of S$5.929 on Mar 28, following share price dips below S$5.69 for the most part of 2024. Its total return is 15 per cent.
The company, through its wholly owned hotel subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group Limited, owns two well-known brands – Pan Pacific and Parkroyal.
Earlier in February, the company posted a 60 per cent dip in net profit to S$227.8 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2024, mainly due to the absence of a one-time gain from the sale of Parkroyal on Kitchener Road in October 2023.
It witnessed growth across key segments that drove a 16 per cent rise in revenue to S$1.5 billion, however.
As at 11.40 am, UOL was trading at S$0.09 or 1.5 per cent lower at S$5.79.
4. Singtel
The telecommunications conglomerate hit a total return of 11 per cent for the quarter.
Together with its wholly owned subsidiary Optus, it serves more than 700 million mobile customers in 21 countries. It has stakes in mobile operators in neighbouring markets, such as Telkomsel in Indonesia and Bharti Airtel in India.
The company’s technology services arm, NCS, is also expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific through a joint venture with Globe Telecom in the Philippines.
Singtel’s net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2024, climbed 183.4 per cent to S$1.3 billion, from S$465 million in the corresponding period the year before.
As at 11.39 am, shares of Singtel were trading down 1.7 per cent or S$0.06 at S$3.50.
5. Capitaland Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT)
CICT has recovered to previous highs last seen in Sep 2024. It hit S$2.13 on Mar 14, with a total return of 11 per cent for the quarter. This increase was relatively recent, with its share price still hovering around S$1.91 on Jan 14.
The trust maintained its distribution per unit (DPU) at S$0.0545 for the second half ended December 2024, taking the total DPU for FY2024 to S$0.1088, up 1.2 per cent from the previous year. Its ROE comes in at 6.3 per cent.
Units of CICT were trading at S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent higher at S$2.12 as at 11.40 am.
