Singapore shares opened sharply higher on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s strongest rally in more than two months after US President Donald Trump said planned military strikes against Iran had been cancelled.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 54.11 points, or 1.08%, to 5,042.21 as at 9.05am, extending gains alongside a broader rebound in global equity markets.
Market breadth was firmly positive, with 171 gainers outpacing 40 decliners, while total trading volume reached 123.98 million shares valued at S$235.92 million.
The advance came after Wall Street staged a powerful rebound overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 1.86%, the S&P 500 gaining 1.75% and the Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.54%.
Investor sentiment improved after Trump indicated that the US and Iran could reach a peace agreement as early as this weekend, easing concerns over a wider Middle East conflict and potential disruptions to global energy supplies.
Singapore’s banking heavyweights led the early gains, with DBS rising 1.58% to S$63.59, OCBC Bank adding 0.81% to S$23.62 and UOB climbing 0.87% to S$38.25.
Singtel also advanced to S$4.30, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained to S$3.49.
The upbeat mood mirrored gains across global technology and semiconductor stocks after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 7.9% overnight, marking its strongest daily performance since April 2025.
Investors are also keeping a close watch on the expected Nasdaq debut of SpaceX later on Friday following the company’s record-breaking US$75 billion initial public offering, which valued Elon Musk’s space and satellite company at US$1.77 trillion.
Despite stronger-than-expected US producer inflation data, markets continue to expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming policy meeting, although traders are still pricing in the possibility of a rate hike before the end of the year.
