STI up 5.2% in July

The top stocks during the month were Seatrium and Keppel Corp.

The Straits Times Index recorded its strongest performance since the 6.4% gain in November 2022 with a 5.2% increase in July to reach 3,373.98, led by Seatrium and Keppel Corp.

In a statement, the SGX said the index was at March levels or below 3,150 in early July and retest to February levels in late July. It reported a total return of 6.5% in the first seven months of the year.

“Going into July, broad market sentiment was weighed by the potential impact of decelerating growth on corporate earnings and outlooks.,” the SGX said.

“However, the earnings season thus far has seen more upside surprises than downside surprises, in the US, across ASEAN and in Singapore. August is a particularly important month for 1HFY23 reporting in Singapore,” it added.

ALSO READ: What makes Singapore a critical global wealth hub?

Seatrium was the leading stock in July with a 12.8% price gain with a $75.4m net institutional inflow. In the first half of the year, it recorded $4.3b in new orders, bringing its net order book to over $19b with deliveries until 2030.

It is followed by Keppel Corp which reported its highest profit record in its 55-year history on the back of a $3.3b divestment of its operations and maintenance business.

Meanwhile, the Hongkong Land was the least performing stock in the index which reported a loss attributable to shareholders of around $445.5m (US$333m) in the first half of the year which reflected the losses from its Investment Properties revaluations.

US$1 = $1.34