Singapore stocks inch up with local bank gains; STI up 0.02%

Singapore stocks saw a slight increase on Wednesday (Oct 28), with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rising 0.02 percent or 0.88 points to close at 5,397.91. Sats was among the top gainers, surging 2.2 percent or S$0.08 to reach S$3.70. The weakest performer within the STI's main constituents was Mapletree Industrial Trust, which dropped 2.8 percent or S$0.05 to S$1.74.

The company announced a distribution per unit of S$0.0297 for its second quarter, which represented a 6.6 percent decrease compared to the previous year's quarter. Among the local banks, DBS, OCBC, and UOB all ended higher. DBS rose 0.1 percent or S$0.07 to S$73.99, OCBC gained 0.2 percent or S$0.07 to S$29.03, while UOB increased 0.4 percent or S$0.17 to S$41.54.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, UltraGreen.ai experienced the largest gain, rising 7.6 percent or US$0.04 to US$0.565, while CapitaLand China Trust had the most significant decline, falling 2.5 percent or S$0.015 to S$0.59. The broader market saw more winners than losers, with 332 gainers versus 219 losers after 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion were traded.

Addvalue Tech was the most actively traded stock by shares, with 75.9 million shares changing hands, while DBS led in terms of volume and value, with three million shares traded, amounting to S$219.5 million. Regional indices across the world were mostly positive, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.2 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 1.1 percent, South Korea's Kospi increasing 6.6 percent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advancing 0.1 percent. The story was written with the help of AI and reviewed by a reporter.