Selective buying lifts 56 SGX stocks as broader market sees outflows

Most of the six leading stocks remain in net institutional outflow for the year.

At least 56 stocks recorded net institutional inflows in each of the three weeks ended 16 October, even as the broader market saw net outflows in the same period, according to SGX.

The stocks spanned the industrials, technology, consumer, healthcare, telecommunications, utilities, REITs, and real estate sectors.

Sembcorp Industries, which completed its acquisition of Alinta in June, led cumulative inflows over three weeks at $43.9m.

It was followed by Singtel ($37.7m) and DFI Retail Group ($22.7m), which, subject to completion, will assume majority ownership of the Starbucks-licensed business across seven Asian markets.

Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Trust ($8.4m), Genting Singapore ($6m), and StarHub ($4.3m) also recorded institutional inflows.

Together, the six stocks accounted for approximately $123m of cumulative institutional inflow across the three weeks.

Despite the recent buying, Singtel, Sembcorp, Genting and StarHub remained in net institutional outflow for the year to date (YTD), at $549.7m, $190.2m, $135m and $7.1m respectively.

Others, including HPH Trust ($26.3m), Hong Fok Corporation ($18.6m), Food Empire Holdings ($15.8m), Chuan Hup Holdings ($6.8m), DFI ($6.4m), and The Hour Glass ($5.4m) have stayed in positive YTD territory.

Amongst stocks with comparable LSEG Workspace data, almost three-quarters reported higher return on equity than at the end of the first half of 2025, whilst close to two-thirds traded at higher book-value multiples.

These improvements were more common than broad price-to-earnings expansion, which SGX said suggests institutional buying was often associated with stocks demonstrating improvements in operating returns.