Singapore stocks fall 0.9% as banks end in red; Seatrium rises on profit surge

SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks closed lower on Feb 26, weighed down by declines in the banking counters.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.9 per cent, or 43.35 points, to 4,964.38. The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index slipped 0.6 per cent, or 8.8 points, to 1,517.79.

All three local banks ended in the red: DBS shed 0.9 per cent to $57.16, OCBC eased 0.3 per cent to $21.34, and UOB declined 0.6 per cent to $36.76.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 375 to 254, with 2.1 billion securities worth $2.5 billion traded.

Seatrium – trading on a cum-dividend basis – was the top performer on the blue-chip index, climbing 3.2 per cent, or seven cents, to $2.28.

This was after the offshore and marine player reported a 48.3 per cent increase in net profit to $179.3 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2025. Full-year net profit doubled to $323.6 million.

UOL was the worst-performing STI constituent, sliding 6.1 per cent, or 69 cents, to $10.68.

Separately, fresh factory output data released on Feb 26 showed that Singapore’s manufacturing output surged 16.6 per cent year on year in January, driven by a jump in electronics production, and beating private-sector economists’ forecasts.

“Looking ahead, February 2026 industrial production is likely to be biased lower (likely towards the 5 per cent handle) due to the Chinese New Year holidays,” wrote OCBC chief economist Selena Ling in a note.

Elsewhere in the region, markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi gained 3.7 per cent, while Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI edged down 0.4 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES