Straits Times

The Straits Times Index (STI) is the headline benchmark for the Singapore Exchange (SGX), composed of 30 largest SGX-listed stocks by free-float market capitalisation that meet liquidity criteria. The index is heavily concentrated in financials — the three Singapore-headquartered banks (DBS Group, OCBC, UOB) together account for roughly 50% of index weight in 2026. The remainder is split among real estate trusts (CapitaLand, Mapletree group, Frasers group), telecommunications (Singtel), agribusiness (Wilmar, Olam), and a small number of industrial conglomerates (Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Keppel).

The STI's banking concentration makes it the world's purest equity-index play on the Southeast Asian banking cycle. When ASEAN credit demand expands and net interest margins widen, DBS / OCBC / UOB earnings rise and the index rallies. The STI is also a high-dividend benchmark (typical gross yield 4-5%) because Singapore banks and REITs distribute large fractions of their earnings as dividends.

The Straits Times Index has roots in the 1966 Straits Times Industrial Index, but was completely overhauled and relaunched on 10 January 2008 as a joint product of FTSE, Singapore Press Holdings and the SGX. The basket was reduced from 50 to 30 names for greater liquidity and tradability. The pre-2008 historical performance is sometimes back-calculated for benchmarking. The post-2008 STI crossed 3,000 in 2010, peaked at 3,500 in May 2013, dropped to 2,500 during the 2020 COVID shock, and has traded in a 3,000-3,500 range since 2023.

Major drawdowns: 1997 Asian financial crisis (-60% — devastating for Singapore as a regional financial hub), 2000 dot-com (-50%), 2008-09 GFC (-58%), 2020 COVID (-32%), 2022 (-12%). The STI tends to have lower volatility than other Asian benchmarks because of its bank-heavy stable-earnings composition.

Singapore Exchange runs a continuous session structure. In IST:

Three lenses for reading the STI. First, the three Singapore banks: DBS / OCBC / UOB earnings releases are the single biggest STI catalysts each quarter; combined they represent half the index. Second, Singapore overnight rate (SORA) and short-term Singapore-dollar funding costs — bank net-interest margins move directly with the rate curve. Third, the SGD/USD rate — a strong Singapore dollar typically signals capital inflows and supports the index; a weak SGD often signals broader EM stress.

Singapore's role as a regional financial hub means the STI is also a real-time barometer for sentiment toward ASEAN equities more broadly. STI weakness often presages weakness in the broader Southeast Asian benchmarks (FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, JCI in Indonesia, SET in Thailand).