Singapore’s STI hits new high as investors flock to safe havens amid global risks

[SINGAPORE] The Straits Times Index (STI) briefly notched a new record of 4,008.15 points on Wednesday (Jul 2) as Singapore draws a rush of investors seeking safe havens from geopolitical risks.

This is the second time the benchmark has index crossed the 4,000 threshold. The STI previously hit a record of 4,005.18 on Mar 28 before closing the day at 3,972.43.

This comes as the Singapore market has been outperforming global stocks through the year, Morgan Stanley analysts noted in the Singapore Equity Strategy Mid-year Outlook released in May.

As of Wednesday, the STI has gained about 5.7 per cent year-to-date.

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

“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 seems to have plateaued (following massive inflows in 2024 to play the interest rate hike cycle), while outflows from REITs seem to have also bottomed,” it added.