Before the release of DBS's performance, market sentiment is optimistic, with the Hang Seng Index rising by 0.45% | Lianhe Zaobao

Investor sentiment is optimistic ahead of the performance announcement from the local largest bank. The FTSE Straits Times Index closed up 19.12 points or 0.45% on Wednesday (August 6), ending at 4227.70 points.

Most Asia-Pacific stock markets rose slightly. The Sydney stock market increased by 0.84%, Tokyo by 0.60%, Shanghai and Shenzhen rose by 0.45% and 0.74% respectively, Hong Kong edged up by 0.03%, while the Seoul stock market remained flat. The Taiwan stock market, however, fell by 0.9%.

Liu Yuhang, a stockbroker at Phillip Securities, told Lianhe Zaobao that after experiencing a pullback last week, the index has rebounded this week. However, with the earnings season bringing market volatility and uncertainties related to tariffs, the current rebound is not strong.

"The upcoming performance of DBS is key for the recent stock market. If it performs strongly, it is expected to further invigorate the entire Singapore stock market; conversely, it may put pressure on the overall market."

He believes that although volatility will continue in the short term, in the medium term, driven by sectors such as industrial engineering, real estate, construction, and electronics technology, along with government policies to enhance liquidity, the local stock market still shows an upward trend.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index released on Tuesday (5th) indicated that due to corporate layoffs, the expansion pace of the U.S. services sector nearly stalled in July. The weak services data further strengthened market expectations for a rate cut in September.

Regarding the slight rise in Asian markets, Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia outside Japan at Mizuho Bank, pointed out: "Although the weakening U.S. economic data does not seem very optimistic on the surface, it also brings a potential benefit that may prompt the Federal Reserve to adopt a more dovish stance, thereby lowering interest rates. Some investors in the market are optimistic about this."

On Wednesday, the total trading volume in the local stock market was 1.49 billion shares, with a total turnover of SGD 1.39 billion. There were 309 advancing stocks and 217 declining stocks.

In terms of the index constituents, 12 stocks rose, eight remained flat, and 10 declined.

Extended Reading

Steel material cost decline benefits contract pricing, Yangzijiang's net profit surged 36.7% in the first half [Acrophyte Hotel Trust's distributable income fell 35.8% in the first half, with a distribution of 0.432 cents per unit

![](https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/styles/article_small_crop/public/articles/2025/08/06/IMGHyattPlaceOklahoma11Q2E1LKO_0.jpg? The stocks with the largest gains in the Straits Times Index are Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Keppel, which rose by 2.34% and 1.43%, closing at SGD 2.63 and SGD 8.54, respectively. DBS follows closely with a gain of 1.27%, closing at SGD 48.85.

The largest declines were seen in Sembcorp Industries and CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, which fell by 1.28% and 1.09%, closing at SGD 7.70 and SGD 2.72, respectively.

CSE Global New Orders Total Increased by 3.8% Year-on-Year

In individual stock news, global systems integrator CSE Global announced that the group secured new orders totaling SGD 211.3 million in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 3.8% year-on-year. As of June 30, the group's order backlog stood at SGD 573.75 million.

The group stated that the significant fluctuations in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Australian dollar during this quarter had a certain adverse impact on order volume and order backlog. If calculated at constant exchange rates, the order volume for the second quarter would have increased by 7.8% year-on-year.

The group's management pointed out that to enhance operational capital efficiency, the group will expand its order backlog in the data center and infrastructure sectors while reducing its focus on the US water and wastewater treatment sectors. CSE Global's stock price closed up 0.75% at SGD 0.675.

The Acrophyte Hospitality Trust, held by wealthy couple Tang Yigang and his wife, reported a 35.8% year-on-year decline in distributable income for the first half of the year to USD 2.78 million (approximately SGD 3.57 million); net property income (NPI) also decreased by 14.3% year-on-year to USD 18.01 million. The trust's distribution per unit for the first half of the year was 0.432 cents, a year-on-year drop of 42%.

The trust indicated that its performance in the first half of the year was still affected by multiple factors, including macroeconomic uncertainty leading to weak accommodation demand and a decline in overall hotel occupancy rates in the US. The trust's stock price closed flat at USD 0.295.

Straits Trading issued a profit warning, expecting to report a net loss for the first half of this year, primarily due to losses related to its joint ventures, mainly stemming from fair value adjustments of certain assets in its UK investment property portfolio; and due to a redemption event related to convertible bonds, resulting in a net loss after re-measurement of the bonds. The company emphasized that these are non-cash items and do not affect operational cash flow. Straits Trading's stock price closed up 1.23% at SGD 1.65 Ming Kuang Group's performance released after the market closed shows that, affected by a foreign exchange loss of 1.19 million yuan, net profit in the first half of the year fell by 52.2% year-on-year to 6.88 million yuan; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was 11.19 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 41.3%. The group's revenue for the first half of the year was 50.79 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 15.2%. Ming Kuang Group's stock price closed flat at 0.255 yuan