Four more all-time highs for the STI as it gained 1.7%

Date: July 28, 2025

• The STI reached four new highs from Mon-Thur, gained 1.7% for the week
• In the US, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at new record highs on positive trade developments
• The US Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady this week
• Hiap Seng shares soar 75% after Indonesian oil giant Chandra Asri buys 11.9% stake
• ST Engineering secured new contracts worth S$4.7 billion in Q2 2025
• Lum Chang Creations enjoyed 22% premium on debut; UOB-Kay Hian called a “buy’’
• ComfortDelgro the laggard surged 6.5% after Maybank report
• Oiltek plans secondary listing on Bursa Malaysia

 

Four more all-time highs for the STI

Supported by a firm Wall Street where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite continued to rise to fresh record highs, the Straits Times Index added 72 points or 1.7% to finish the week at 4,261.06.

Friday’s 12-points fall was the only dip in a run that stretched back to the start of the previous week, which meant that the STI rose for nine of ten sessions. Its newest all-time closing high was 4,273.05 on Thursday.

Average daily volume last week was S$1.62b, up from S$1.42b the previous week.

Wall St rose to new highs on hopes of trade deals

Wall Street on Friday wrapped up a strong week with the benchmark S&P 500 index notching its 14th record close of the year at 6,388.64 points. Sentiment was boosted by positive trade developments and solid quarterly reports from some of the world’s largest companies.

US President Donald Trump announced a “massive deal” with Japan on Tuesday, one he touted as “perhaps the largest” ever made. As per the agreement, Japan has agreed to invest $550B in the U.S., while goods imported from Japan will be subject to a 15% tariff rate.

Trump also hinted at further progress on trade with China, saying he might visit the Asian nation in the “not too distant” future to meet President Xi Jinping. Finally, Trump said he sees a 50-50 chance, or perhaps less, of the U.S. and the European Union reaching a trade agreement.

For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.0%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3%.

The US Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady this week

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold the federal funds rate steady at the culmination of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at the post-decision press conference will be heavily scrutinized at a time when President Trump has piled on enormous criticism and pressure to cut interest rates.

As of Friday, the futures market was pricing in a 97.4% chance that rates would be unchanged.

Hiap Seng shares soar 75% after Indonesian oil giant Chandra Asri buys 11.9% stake

Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri has taken an 11.9% stake in Hiap Seng Industries giving it a substantial stake in the steel fabrication service provider.

Hiap Seng shares soared in early trade on Wednesday as news of the purchase broke, more than doubling in price to an intra-day high of S$0.028. The last time Hiap Seng shares traded at such levels was in October 2019.

The counter finished the day at a multi-year high of S$0.021, S$0.009 or 75% above Tuesday’s closing price, on a hefty turnover of 204.1 million units.

Chandra Asri’s entry could signal a future partnership between both companies, said Hiap Seng in a statement before trading commenced on Wednesday. Chandra Asri is a subsidiary of Barito Pacific, the Indonesian power and industrial giant founded by billionaire tycoon Prajogo Pangestu.

Max Tan, Hiap Seng’s chief executive officer, said that the deal is “a potential opportunity to explore strategic collaborations that will enhance long-term value for all stakeholders”.

ST Engineering secured new contracts worth S$4.7 billion in Q2 2025

ST Engineering on Wednesday announced that it secured S$4.7 billion in new contracts in the second quarter of 2025.

These comprise S$1.5 billion from the commercial aerospace segment, S$1.5 billion from the defence and public security segment, and S$1.7 billion from the urban solutions and satcom segment.

The commercial aerospace segment clinched several new contracts across its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), as well as its aerostructures and systems sub-units.

On Thursday following the announcement, the stock jumped S$0.59 or 7.13% to S$8.86 on volume of 14.5m.

Lum Chang Creations enjoyed 22% premium on debut; UOB-Kay Hian called a “buy’’

The market’s latest listing, Lum Chang Creations, ended its debut on Catalist last Monday at S$0.305, a premium of 22% over its S$0.25 offer price. They closed the week at S$0.385.

Of the 49 million shares offered, one million was about 47.3 times oversubscribed by retail investors. The others were offered under the placement tranche.

Lim Thiam Hooi, managing director at LCC, said: “The proceeds will support our expansion plans, including growth into high-end residential projects and potential opportunities in regional markets.”

UOB Kay Hian has initiated coverage on Lum Chang Creations assigning the interior fit-out business a “buy” call and a S$0.39 price target.

UOBKH analyst Heidi Mo wrote in a Monday report that LCC is set for robust financial performance, given a strong growth outlook and visible pipeline of projects.

“Backed by a robust orderbook of S$123 million, the company’s earnings per share is expected to grow remarkably at 144% and 12% in FY2025 and FY2026 (respectively), driven by higher demand from conservation and interior fit-out works from the government’s increasing commitment to protecting local heritage,” Mo wrote.

Contracts worth around S$34 million awarded in the first five months of 2025 will likely be fulfilled in the next three months to two years, she said. LCC’s orderbook is expected to grow further to S$146 million in FY2027, reflecting a “positive outlook”.

ComfortDelgro the laggard surged 6.5% after Maybank report

On Friday, transport firm ComfortDelgro’s (CD) shares jumped S$0.10 or 6.5% to S$1.64 on volume of 64.8m after Maybank maintained a “buy’’ with a target price of S$1.70.

“Notwithstanding the recent super-charged market rally, CD remains one of the rare laggards even though the group continues to deliver respectable earnings growth and a decent yield of almost 6%’’ said Maybank.

“While traditionally seen as a low-beta stock, we reckon this could change soon as CD is supposedly one of the prime candidates to benefit from the deployment of the MAS S$5b fund, which focuses on non-index STI stocks and other small-mid caps companies. We maintain BUY with higher DCF-based (discounted cash flow) target of S$1.70 to reflect lower WACC (weighted average cost of capital) given its more optimal capital structure’’.

Oiltek plans secondary listing on Bursa Malaysia

Oiltek International announced that it is proposing a secondary listing of its entire issued shares on the main market of Bursa Malaysia Securities.

Oiltek’s board said this listing will be beneficial as it will allow the group to broaden its investor reach and base, potentially increase the liquidity of the company’s shares and enhance the company’s value through separate trading platforms.

Oiltek first listed on Catalist on Mar 3, 2022, before transferring to the mainboard on Jun 6, 2025. Its market capitalisation stands at around S$317.5 million to date.

Henry Yong, executive director and chief executive of Oiltek, said: “The board wishes to highlight that the proposed secondary listing is at a preliminary stage and will involve extensive preparatory work, and such preparatory work may involve an uncertain length of time.

“Further, the proposed secondary listing is subject to, among other things, the approvals of the relevant authorities and there is no assurance that the approval of the relevant authorities will be granted.”

Selected earnings in brief

Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.03155 for the first half ended June, up 3.7% from the previous corresponding period. The distribution will be paid on Aug 29, after the record date on Aug 1. Distributable income rose 4.6% to S$92.8 million whilst revenue was up 3.3% to S$234.5 million. Net property income (NPI) grew 5.6% to S$159.5 million. The increase in its top line and NPI came amid a one-off compensation from a Sydney commercial building, as well as stronger operating performance in Singapore.

OUE REIT reported a DPU of S$0.0098 for the first half ended Jun 30, 2025, up 5.4% from the corresponding year-ago period. The growth reflects effective capital management and the resilience of its diversified Singapore portfolio, its manager said. Revenue was 10.6% lower at S$131.1 million, whilst NPI similarly dropped 10.1% to S$105.3 million which was attributed mainly to the absence of revenue contributions from Lippo Plaza Shanghai, which was divested in December 2024. Distributable income, at S$54.3 million, was 5.9% higher and unitholders will receive the money on Sep 3, after the books are closed on Jul 31.

Sabana REIT reported a 26.9% increase in DPU to S$0.017 for the first half of its fiscal year ended Jun 30 whilst total income available for distribution grew to S$21.1 million, up 26.8%. The income available for DPU was S$0.0187, up 27.2% and the highest since 2018. But with the retention of approximately 10% of distributable income – to be deployed to fund costs incurred and those to be incurred in connection with the internalisation of its manager function – the distribution amount declared per unit is S$0.017. Gross revenue grew 7.6% to S$59.3 million whilst NPI rose 23.4% to S$33.5 million.