Local banks lift Singapore stocks; STI up 1.4%

SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended higher on March 17, lifted by gains in all three local banks.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.4 per cent, or 67.28 points, to close at 4,935.97. The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index advanced as well, by 0.6 per cent, or 9.3 points, to 1,445.35.

Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 400 to 212, with 1.5 billion securities worth $2 billion traded.

Regional markets were mostly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6 per cent and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.9 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1 per cent.

On the STI, Singtel led the gainers, rising 2.6 per cent to $5.17. Thai Beverage was the worst performer, easing 1.1 per cent to 44 cents.

All three local banks ended the session higher. DBS Bank gained 2 per cent to $57.08, OCBC Bank rose 1.7 per cent to $21.10, and UOB advanced 1.5 per cent to $36.88.

Among components of the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Hong Leong Asia was the top gainer, climbing 6.2 per cent to $2.92. Geo Energy was the biggest loser, falling 6.5 per cent to 50 cents.

Separately on March 17, Singapore reported that non-oil domestic exports grew 4 per cent year on year, slowing from the previous month’s 9.2 per cent expansion. Overall, the Republic’s key exports rose 6.7 per cent year on year in January and February combined, up from 2.3 per cent in the same period the year before.

“We turn cautious on Singapore’s trade performance in the coming months, given ongoing geopolitical noise and tariff-related external risk,” wrote RHB group chief economist and head of market research Barnabas Gan in a March 17 note. “We view that Singapore’s growth and trade will be negatively impacted should the Middle East tensions exacerbate in the first half of 2026; separately, we are also cognisant of tariff-related risks,” he added. THE BUSINESS TIMES