Singapore shares rise, mirroring regional gains despite tariff kick-off; STI up 0.7%
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 0.7 per cent or 30.45 points higher at 4,258.15. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 320 to 201 after 2 billion securities worth S$2.1 billion changed hands.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the top gainer on the index for a second straight day, climbing 8 per cent or S$0.21 to close at S$2.84.
The rally came after the Chinese shipbuilder on Wednesday posted a record-high net profit of 4.2 billion yuan (S$752.6 million) for the first half of 2025 , marking a 36.7 per cent jump from 3.1 billion yuan a year earlier.
The counter surged more than 11 per cent in early trade , hitting S$2.92 by 9.35 am, up from Wednesday's close of S$2.63. This marked its highest level since February, when it reached S$3.30.
Thursday's biggest decliner on the STI was UOB , falling 1.8 per cent or S$0.64 to S$35.81 , after reporting a 6 per cent year-on-year drop in second-quarter net profit to S$1.34 billion .
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The weaker result was attributed to a decline in net interest income amid narrowing margins, and missed the S$1.48 billion consensus forecast from a Bloomberg poll of six analysts.
The other two local banking stocks closed higher on Thursday. OCBC edged up 0.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$17.09; DBS , meanwhile, soared after it announced a rise in Q2 earnings to S$2.82 billion ; the counter briefly touched the S$50 mark before closing at S$49.75, up 1.8 per cent or S$0.90 on the day.
Elsewhere in the region, key indices closed higher. Malaysia's Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.4 per cent; Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both grew 0.7 per cent. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9 per cent, and Taiwan's Stock Exchange Weighted Index surged 2.4 per cent.
The gains came as US President Donald Trump announced 100 per cent tariffs on semiconductor chips, with exemptions for investments made within the US.
This explains the seemingly counterintuitive Apple-led rally in US tech stocks, said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia (excluding Japan) at Mizuho Securities.
'The cognitive dissonance involved in the Apple-led tech rally firing up Nasdaq bulls on one hand and Trump's 100 per cent tariffs on semiconductors is remarkable,' he added.
More broadly, Varathan sees trade partners possibly using their American investments as bargaining chips to mitigate the impact of US tariffs. A prominent example is China, whose control over rare earth materials and dominant industrial position '(afford) concessions and partial immunity' from tariff pressures.
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