The STI rose to an all-time high above 4,000

Date: July 7, 2025

• UOL, Hongkong Land, Keppel help push STI to new all-time high
• Over in the US, Trump said tariffs will start on 1 Aug
• STI’s performance because of safe haven, defensive status: analysts
• Fu Yu appointed four new independent directors
• Del Monte Foods files for bankruptcy in the US
• Info-Tech Systems closed its debut S$0.04 above its offer price

 

A new all-time high above 4,000 – not led by the banks

The Straits Times Index on Wednesday last week finally succeeded in closing above the 4,000 level when it jumped 21.01 points to an all-time record close of 4,010.77.

This was followed by another new high of 4,019.57 on Thursday before a slight slip on Friday took it down to 4,013.62. For the week, the index gained 47 points or about 1.2% with average daily volume at S$1.25b versus S$1.4b in the previous week.

Most notably, banks played only a minor role, with DBS and UOB actually closing weaker on Wed. Instead, it was Keppel, Hongkong Land and UOL that led the gain, the latter’s S$0.44 or 7% rise to S$6.70 standing out as the best performance by an index component.

The momentum in UOL however, did not last – the stock fell on Thursday and Friday and closed the week at S$6.48, though it still managed a net gain of S$0.39 or 6.4% for the week.

Over in the US, Trump said tariffs will start on 1 Aug, S&P 500 and Nasdaq at all-time highs

Global stock markets were largely downbeat on Friday after President Donald Trump said he would start sending letters to countries setting new tariff rates.

Trump told reporters Thursday that the letters—around 10 a day—will start being sent Friday.

He said the rates could range from 60% or 70% to as low as 10% and they would take effect from 1 Aug.

Markets in countries perceived as more vulnerable to U.S. levies were hardest hit. South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index fell 2%, Germany’s DAX lost 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.7%. Wall Street was closed on Friday for the 4 July holiday.

Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on the European Union to 50% instead of 20%, if the bloc and the U.S. are unable to reach a deal by the 9 July deadline.

So far, the Trump administration has announced deals with the UK and Vietnam and agreed to a truce with China that saw the world’s two largest economies ease tit-for-tat tariffs.

Analysts at UBS estimate that if the full set of proposed tariffs were to go into effect, the weighted average tax rate on U.S. imports would rise to 21% from 16% currently.

“Our economic forecasts assume the higher tariffs do not snap back on July 9, but the outcome is highly uncertain. We doubt the overall level of tariffs goes down, however, and there is some risk [that] tariffs rise for some if not all trading partners,” wrote UBS economist Jonathan Pingle in a research note.

For the week, the S&P500 climbed 1.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.6%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at new all-time highs.

STI’s performance because of safe haven, defensive status: analysts

“The STI has held up (in the) year to date despite global volatility. Worsening US policy uncertainty, slower China growth and the intensifying hostilities in the Middle East (are) likely to bolster safe haven flows to Singapore,” Maybank said in a Jun 27 report.

It added: “Indeed, so far this year, defensive sectors such as telcos and utilities have seen the strongest outperformance. At the same time, flows rotating out of the banks seem to have plateaued (following massive inflows in 2024 to play the interest rate hike cycle), while outflows from real estate investment trusts (REITs) seem to have also bottomed.”

Jose Torres, a senior economist at Interactive Brokers, was quoted by the Business Times as saying the Republic’s economic stability and the “attractive yields” offered by its stocks were the drivers contributing to the equity market’s safe haven status and “impressive level of outperformance”.

“Singaporean shares, furthermore, have inexpensive valuations when compared to the US. Additionally, its equity space saw a significant benefit from investors incrementally neglecting the US early in the year and favouring companies from across the oceans in efforts to diversify internationally,” he said on Wednesday.

UBS analysts on Jun 26 updated Singapore equities from “neutral” to “attractive”, citing the market’s defensive appeal amid geopolitical uncertainty.

They highlighted a “combination of safe haven characteristics”, including proactive capital-management initiatives undertaken by a handful of companies and a stronger Singapore dollar against the greenback.

“The market’s defensive traits should anchor its performance, while the ongoing equity market reform and capital-management initiatives could provide catalysts for a further re-rating of valuation multiples,” noted the analysts.

Del Monte Foods files for bankruptcy in the US

Singapore- and Philippine-listed Del Monte Pacific (DMP) said it would have to deconsolidate Del Monte Foods (DMF) from its accounts as it no longer controls the US subsidiary, which has filed for bankruptcy.

DMP in June elected to skip a payment to the US unit’s lenders as part of a lawsuit settlement tied to a controversial debt restructuring. This led to the lenders appointing a majority of DMF’s board members, and 25% of DMP’s stake in DMF was transferred to them.

DMP said the loss of control over DMF led to the deconsolidation of the subsidiary from its financial statements. According to the parent’s annual report for FY2024, DMF’s US$1.7 billion of sales accounted for more than 70 per cent of DMP’s group sales. The group has been posting significant losses in its last few quarters.

The group is currently assessing the financial impact of this change, noting that its net investment in DMF was valued at US$579 million as at Jan 31, 2025, with an additional US$169 million in net receivables from DMF and its subsidiaries. The impairment value will be finalised following an audit.

Over the five trading days, DMP’s shares fell S$0.008 or 12.5% to S$0.056.

Fu Yu appointed four new independent directors

Four new independent directors were appointed to the board of components manufacturer Fu Yu Corp at its annual general meeting (AGM) held on Friday (Jun 27).

This comes as resolutions tabled by the group’s largest shareholder Victor Lim to appoint Gilbert Rodrigues, Ralf Pilarczyk, Yang Zhenrong and Haytham Al Essa to the board were passed at Fu Yu’s AGM. Lim held some 29.5% of Fu Yu shares as at Jan 9.

The resolutions to appoint Rodrigues, Pilarczyk and Yang received more than 92% of shareholder approval, while Al Essa’s received approvals of around 80%.

Earlier on, an independent party assessed the four proposed candidates and reported no findings against their suitability, the group announced on Jun 20.

The appointments bring the number of directors on Fu Yu’s board to a total of five, including its chief executive officer David Seow, who was left as the sole director on the board following the resignations of three of the group’s former independent, non-executive directors on Jun 11.

The installation of the new directors also enables the company to meet the Singapore Exchange’s mainboard listing requirements for at least one-third of the board to be independent and for the group to have at least two independent non-executive directors.

Info-Tech Systems closed its debut S$0.04 above its offer price

Software services provider Info-Tech Systems ended its first trading day at S$0.91 on Friday S0.04 or 4.6% above its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.87.

The counter opened at S$0.95 reaching as high as S$0.98 in Singapore’s second listing for 2025 and first mainboard listing in close to two years.

The Singapore-headquartered firm’s trading debut comes two days after its IPO closed, with some 24.9 million shares fully subscribed. This comprised an international placement of around 19.9 million shares allocated for selected investors, which was 5.5 times subscribed, and an offer of five million shares available to the Singapore public, which was 14.4 times subscribed.

This translates to a subscription rate of 7.3 times for all the shares on offer.