Singapore Stocks Most Net Bought by Institutions in April

In April, the STI dropped by 3.5% but partially recovered by the end of the month. Institutions net sold S$73 million, mainly from banks. Singtel saw the highest inflows, whereas REITs faced substantial outflows.

• The STI declined 3.5% in April, with dividends reducing the decline in total return to 2.3%. Global trade developments caused a 15% drop from 3,972.43 at end of 1Q25, to 3,393.69 on April 9, followed by a 13% recovery to 3,832.51. Overall, institutions net sold S$73M in Singapore stocks, mainly from STI Banks, which saw S$701M in net outflow.
• Singtel continued to record the most net institutional inflow in April. Both NetLink NBN Trust & StarHub also saw net institutional inflow in April, with the Telco Sector booking the most net inflow for the month. The FTSE ST Industrials Index also achieved a defensive 1.0% total return for April, with the sector booking S$79M in net institutional inflow.
• REITs saw S$89M in net institutional outflow, with one-third of them booking net inflow, led by Frasers Centrepoint Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT & CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust. In the Sector, Frasers Centrepoint Trust saw the most net institutional inflow relative to market cap, followed by Lendlease Global Comm REIT & Frasers Hospitality Trust.

In April, the STI declined 3.5% in price, with dividends reducing the decline in total return to 2.3%, bringing the STI’s 4-month total return to 2.9%. The developments in global trade policies, and potential growth ramifications, saw the STI decline 15% from 3,972.43 at the end of 1Q25, to 3,393.69 on April 9, subsequently recovering 13% to 3,832.51.

Over the past month, institutions net sold S$73 million in Singapore stocks, primarily driven by net selling across the STI Banks, which recorded S$701 million in net institutional outflow. Similar to the first four months of 2025, the trio of STI Banks have continued to lead the net institutional outflow, while the combined institutional flow of other sectors has registered a net inflow.

Singtel has also continued to book the most net institutional inflow, in both the month of April and first four months of 2025. The Group is scheduled to report its FY25 results before the May 22 open. In a business update in February, Singtel reported its 9MFY25 underlying net profit increased by 11% from 9MFY24 to S$1.87 billion, noting that due to a lower exceptional gain, net profit fell by 2.0% to S$2.55 billion. This was because the previous period’s net exceptional gain was boosted by a S$1.2 billion gain from the dilution of Singtel’s equity interest in Telkomsel.

All four of the more actively traded stocks of the Telecommunications Sector booked net institutional inflow in April, with NetLink NBN Trust booking S$8 million net inflow, StarHub booking S$2 million and Asian Pay Television Trust booking a more marginal S$0.1 million in net inflow. The Telecommunications Sector booked S$522 million in net institutional inflow in April, taking the four month net institutional inflow to S$674 million.

Coinciding with the net inflow, the FTSE ST Telecommunications Index booked a 9.5% total return in April. The FTSE ST Industrials Index and FTSE ST Gas, Water and Multi-utilities Index also booked defensive total returns of 1.0% and 1.2% respectively, with the Industrial Sector and Utilities Sector booking S$79 million and S$41 million in net institutional inflow for the month.

All Data as of 30 April 2025. Note ADT refers to Average Daily Trading Turnover; NIF refers to Net Institutional Flow, NRF refers to Net Retail Flow.

Source : Singapore Stocks Most Net Bought by Institutions in April