Singapore stocks end higher, led by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding; STI up 1.1%
The shipbuilder is also the most actively traded stock on the benchmark index, with 53.2 million shares changing hands
Published Fri, Aug 7, 2026 · 07:00 PM
[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Friday (Aug 7).
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 1.1 per cent or 59.44 points to finish at 5,698.43.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 6.6 per cent or S$0.26 to S$4.20.
The worst performer among STI constituents was CapitaLand Investment , which fell 2.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$2.69.
The three local banks ended mixed on Friday. DBS rose 1.7 per cent or S$1.25 to S$76.33 and OCBC was up 3.3 per cent or S$0.97 at S$30.30. Meanwhile, UOB finished 0.6 per cent or S$0.28 lower at S$43.30.
Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, AEM was the top gainer, rising 3.6 per cent or S$0.32 to S$9.15, while Yangzijiang Financial was the biggest decliner, falling 4.5 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.21.
Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 294 to 267, after one billion securities worth S$2.6 billion changed hands.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the most actively traded stock on the STI with 53.2 million shares changing hands. DBS was the most actively traded stock in terms of value, with a volume of 6.8 million shares and a value of S$515.5 million.
Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.5 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.6 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.1 per cent.
In currency markets, the yen remained in focus, following the recent US-Japan intervention to stabilise the yen after it hit a 40-year low.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that Japan’s use of the US Federal Reserve’s Foreign and International Monetary Authorities facility does not undermine the greenback’s reserve status, but instead reflects the depth of US capital markets.
Innes noted that if the intervention succeeds in holding the yen, it could reduce pressure on the Bank of Japan to accelerate rate hikes, even as markets currently assign a high probability for a September move.
On US rates, Afonso Borges from Julius Baer’s fixed income research team said artificial intelligence-related corporate bond issuance was not driving the rise in long-term US Treasury yields.
He said the sell-off is “better explained by higher expected policy rates”, pointing instead to renewed uncertainty about the Fed’s inflation reaction function.
Borges added that the swap spreads, auction demand and curve valuations show little sign of a broad supply-driven dislocation.
This article has been written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter
