Singapore shares rise on first trading day of 2025; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares rose on Thursday (Jan 2) despite declines across the region on the first trading day of 2025.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.4 per cent or 13.21 points, ending at 3,800.81. The top gainer on the STI was Thai Beverage, rising 2.8 per cent or S$0.015 to close at S$0.56.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Exchange was at the bottom of the table. It was down 1.8 per cent or S$0.23 at S$12.51.

Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 284 to 246, after 812.8 million securities worth S$581.4 million changed hands.

CapitaLand Investment climbed 1.1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.65. Its group chief executive Lee Chee Koon, in his New Year message to employees on Thursday, said that macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties could “weigh heavily” on the company’s business in 2025.

At the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) 25th anniversary ceremony, held on the first trading day of 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said that there is a need to jump-start interest in the exchange and make it sustainable.

He added that the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s equities review group and SGX will need to define spaces where Singapore can be attractive to growth companies.

“The review group, informed by market feedback, is studying how we can better position our equities market to attract high-quality, mid-cap growth companies that are likely to be less visible on larger exchanges in the US, China and Japan, but can benefit from being listed on SGX due to brand familiarity with investors in the region.”

Regional markets fell on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 2.2 per cent, while the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 0.6 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index decreased 0.02 per cent.