It's not all gloom and doom when it comes to Singapore stocks

High dividend yields are a plus.

It's not all gloom and doom for Singapore equities despite sharp earnings misses in the first quarter.

According to Rashmi Sadhwani, Investment Strategist at Coutts, Singapore still provides opportunities for both yield and growth seekers despite patchy growth recovery on the export and manufacturing fronts.

In terms of our tactical asset allocation, we remain overweight Singapore equities within Asian portfolios relative to other markets. Singapore equity valuations are slightly more expensive compared to the region and given the rich price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, investors can look towards Singapore’s dividend yields which are among the highest in the region projected at 3.8% for 2016," she said.

However, she cautioned that growth seekers should consider of Singapore’s sensitivity to global factors given the open and export-oriented nature of the economy.

“Given our base case of a continued gradual recovery in global growth and hence external demand, we would screen for diversified industrials including offshore & marine services which would benefit from a recovering oil price. Selective banks that are exposed to regional / cyclical growth are another play on growth recovery,” she noted.