DBS reaches new peak of S$52.87, as STI soars to record high of 4,355.84 points

JPMorgan has bullish STI target of up to 5,000 by year’s end, cites declining interest rates and Republic’s S$5 billion market development programme

DBS shares hit an all-time high on Wednesday (Sep 10), helping to boost the Straits Times Index (STI) to a new record as investors continued to bet on Singapore’s efforts to revive the local market.

Shares of the bank soared 3.9per cent from their previous close to a peak of S$52.87 as at 4.59 pm. It ended the day at S$52.73, up 3.6 per cent or S$1.85.

The STI rose nearly 1.4 per cent, or more than 50 points, to 4,355.84 – new territory for the benchmark index. It finished at 4,346.46, up 1.1 per cent or 48.89 points.

DBS closed at S$50.88 the previous day, while the STI stood at 4,297.57 points. The index has climbed 14.7 per cent in the year to date, while DBS is up nearly 20 per cent in the year to date.

The lender posted a second-quarter year-on-year net profit rise of 1 per cent to S$2.82 billion, beating the S$2.79 billion consensus forecast in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts.

Investors and analysts’ optimism for the Republic’s bourse – especially regarding its blue chips – go beyond just index and stock-price rallies.

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The Singapore Exchange’s volume of securities traded – a measure of liquidity – shot up almost 60 per cent from June to 39 billion units in July, the same month that the Monetary Authority of Singapore allocated S$1.1 billion to three asset managers to invest in the Singapore stock market.

The move is part of a S$5 billion Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) aimed at deepening market liquidity and restoring investor confidence.

Also in July, JPMorgan analysts raised their target on the STI, with a bullish target of 5,000 by year’s end. This was due to interest rate declines, positive tariff news flows and progress of the EQDP.