STI Breaks 4,000 Mark in Strongest Showing Yet, But Risks Remain

Rally May Not Last Due to Uncertainty Over Next Round of Tariffs Expected From Trump

- Benjamin Lim

It has been a busy week on the Singapore stock market, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) breaking the 4,000-point mark on July 2, and then hitting an all-time high of 4,019 points on July 4, before eventually closing strong at 4,013 points.

Local property stocks saw the biggest gains this week, with real estate developer UOL Group logging a 7 per cent increase to hit a 52-week high of $6.70 on July 2, after the court approved the group's collective acquisition of Thomson View Condominium with CapitaLand Development for $810 million. Hongkong Land and City Developments also posted gains this week.

Other top gainers included blue-chip industrials like Keppel and Sembcorp Industries, and consumer staples such as Wilmar International and DFI Retail Group.

The local stock market's gains came as Wall Street rallied ahead of the July 4 holiday. A strong US jobs report allayed fears of broader economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's tariff push, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing on July 3 at 44,828 points, up 344 points, nearly setting a new record.

While the market's exuberance reflected renewed investor confidence, analysts remained cautious, pointing to ongoing US-China trade tensions and the looming risk of additional tariffs.