Singapore blue chips edge up 0.1% as lower oil prices ease war anxieties

[SINGAPORE] Singapore blue chips edged up on Wednesday (Mar 11), with the barometer Straits Times Index (STI) finishing 3.17 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 4,863.81 points.

Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index also rose, by 20.06 points or 1.4 per cent to 1,437.12 points.

Overall, gainers beat decliners 382 to 211 as 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.9 billion were transacted.

Private banking and asset management group LGT noted that global equity markets were steadier midweek as oil prices pulled back from recent highs, easing some of the anxiety around the Iran war.

This came as the International Energy Agency is reportedly considering the largest strategic release of oil reserves in its history to mitigate potential supply disruptions. Brent crude oil futures were hovering below US$88 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate under US$84.

DFI Retail Group led the STI performance with a US$0.40 or 9.2 per cent rise to US$4.75, after DBS Equity Research maintained its “buy” recommendation with a target price of US$5.

Jardine Matheson Holdings , the holding company of DFI Retail Group, was at the bottom of the STI tally, with a 4.8 per cent or US$3.74 drop to US$74.66. The group swung to a net profit of US$1.1 billion for FY2025, reversing from a net loss of US$468 million for FY2024.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding closed at S$4.07, up S$0.02 or 0.5 per cent a day after the China-based shipbuilder said it will buy a 10 per cent stake in Poseidon Corp, the parent company of Seaspan Corporation, which is the world’s largest lessor of container ships.

A DBS analyst said of the purchase: “We estimate that the acquisition will accrete annualised profit of over 300 million yuan (net of interest income for cash used to fund the stake acquisition) or about 3 per cent of (the) bottom line, and lift ROE (return on equity) by about 0.8 percentage point.”

“Beyond earnings accretion, more importantly, the investment strengthens a longstanding shipowner relationship and supports vertical integration along the containership value chain,” the analyst added.

The banking trio put in a mixed showing: OCBC dropped S$0.07 or 0.3 per cent to S$20.86, UOB was down S$0.16 or 0.4 per cent at S$36.09, while DBS inched up S$0.07 or 0.1 per cent to S$55.72.