SINGAPORE stocks continued their upward rally as the Straits Times Index (STI) posted a new 52-week high on Tuesday (Sep 17).
Investor sentiment appeared upbeat as Enterprise Singapore data showed that Singapore’s key exports rose 10.7 per cent in August, although the figure fell short of private-sector economists’ expectations of 15 per cent growth.
The local benchmark index rose 0.6 per cent or 22.99 points to 3,593.42. Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 355 to 205, after 1.2 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion changed hands.
Regional markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 per cent, the Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent, and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1 per cent.
Saira Malik, Nuveen’s head of equities and fixed income, said that defensive equities, especially dividend growers, will be favoured against a backdrop of economic and political uncertainty.
“Companies are typically reluctant to cut their dividends, since that can signal stress to investors. On the other hand, companies that continually increase their dividends are bearing the fruit of robust business models and cash flows,” she said.
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She added that the potential combination of attractive risk-adjusted returns and lower volatility makes dividend growers a “sound choice” for core portfolio allocation.
On the STI, DFI Retail Group was the top gainer. It rose 3.9 per cent or US$0.07 to US$1.88.
Meanwhile, Frasers Centrepoint Trust was at the bottom of the table, falling 1.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.36.
The trio of local banks were in the black on Tuesday. DBS closed unchanged at S$38, while OCBC rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$15.28 and UOB gained 0.8 per cent or S$0.27 to S$32.55.
