The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) reached a new high of 4,011.78 on 2 July 2025, capping a steady 6% gain in the first half of the year. That performance came close to matching the S&P 500’s 6.7% rise. But while the index made headlines, most investors may not have noticed what was driving those returns.
It wasn’t the banks.
According to The Business Times’s article dated 7 July 2025 “Here are the top 10 best performing stocks in Singapore’s STI for the first half”, DBS Group (SGX: D05), OCBC Ltd (SGX: O39) and United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11) ranked only 18th to 20th among STI constituents by total return in the first half.
Instead, companies from a diverse mix of industries—including aerospace, energy, real estate and retail—delivered the strongest share price gains.
Some were long-time dividend favourites that continued to compound steadily. Others had been making strategic shifts that are beginning to pay off. And a few rebounded from a low base after facing challenges in recent years….
