SG Morning Call | STI Falls 0.6%; YZJ Maritime, Keppel Down Nearly 2%; ST Engineering, SIA, YZJ Shipbldg Down over 1%; Bank Stocks Down Slightly
Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened lower on Tuesday. STI fell 0.55%; YZJ Maritime, Keppel down nearly 2%; ST Engineering, SIA, YZJ Shipbldg, Wilmar Intl down over 1%.
Stocks in Focus
$DBS Bank(D05.SI)$, $OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$, $UOB(U11.SI)$: Shares of Singapore’s three local banks have surged to record levels over the past week, helping lift the Straits Times Index (STI) to a fresh high and pushing DBS above S$200 billion in market capitalisation on Monday (Jul 13) – making it the first Singapore-listed company to cross that threshold. Citi analyst Tan Yong Hong also increased his target prices for the lenders. He lifted DBS’ target to S$73.50 from S$65; OCBC’s to S$28.40 from S$24.50; and UOB’s to S$41.50 from S$37.40. He has a “buy” call on DBS and OCBC, and a “neutral” call on UOB.
$Lum Chang Creations(LCC.SI)$: The urban revitalisation specialist said on Monday that it will transfer its listing from Catalist to the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Thursday. It had completed a placement of 35 million shares at S$0.759 apiece, and raised gross proceeds of around S$11.4 million. The counter ended Monday at S$0.375, down S$0.02 or 5.1 per cent, before the news.
SG Local News
Singapore's Q2 GDP Growth Moderates to 5.7%
Singapore's economic expansion moderated as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East offset some of the export gains fueled by the artificial intelligence boom.
According to preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry released on Tuesday, gross domestic product increased by 5.7% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. This figure is lower than the revised growth rate of 6.3% recorded in the first quarter and came in slightly above the median forecast of 5.5%.
The slowdown indicates that robust demand for AI-related electronics may not be enough to completely shield the Singaporean economy from escalating global uncertainties. While electronics exports surged by nearly double in May year-on-year, renewed conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over the trade and investment outlook.
Chip Players in Singapore Ride AI Wave to Bump up Investments in Semiconductor Ecosystem
Singapore may not have a home-grown semiconductor company equivalent to that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co or SK Hynix, the city-state has a comprehensive semiconductor hub that is allowing it to benefit from AI-driven demand in this current semiconductor up-cycle. This has had a positive impact on both its exports and the investments it has drawn in.
“Even though Singapore is not the main location for advanced node wafer production, it benefits from AI-driven demand through memory, advanced packaging, equipment, and high-reliability mature and specialty nodes,” said Lin Feng-wen, analyst at Taipei-based consultancy Isaiah Research.
Recent data released by Enterprise Singapore revealed that electronics shipments have been driving the Republic’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX).
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