The Straits Times Index (STI) entered the green zone on Monday morning and opened at 3,374.5 points, gaining around 10 points on Friday’s close. At the time of writing, the STI was trading at 3,329.3.
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With the favorable sentiments surrounding the country’s upcoming Budget 2023 on Tuesday, the STI is up for some more positive action this week.
The finance minister, Lawrence Wong, calls the budget a “Valentine’s Day present to all,” as it will focus on inflation and the lower income groups. The country’s inflation was stable at 5.1% in December 2022, for the third month in a row.
On Monday, Singapore announced its growth numbers. The economy grew by 3.6% in 2022, down from the government’s forecast of 3.8%. In the last quarter, the growth rate was 2.1%, as compared to 4% in the third quarter.
The country expects its growth to be between 0.5 and 2.5% in 2023 as it continues to fight against inflation and a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. However, the service sector and tourism industry are likely to benefit from the opening of China.
Talking about the companies, Thai Beverage Public Co (SG:Y92) was one of the most actively traded stocks on Monday. The company posted an almost 5% increase in its revenue, with a 13.7% growth in its beer business for Q1 2023.
Agribusiness company Wilmar International (SG:F34) tops the chart among the top gainers on the STI on Monday. The stock gained around 1.26% to S$4.01. The company recently announced it will continue its joint venture with the Indian company Adani, after the Adani-Hindenburg controversy.
Among the bottom performers, DFI Retail Group Holdings (SG:D01) lost 1.8% and DBS Group Holdings (SG:D05) lost 1.64%.
