Trading of Singapore manufacturing stocks hit a near-one-year high in May

The index booked 4.4% in total return last month.

The iEdge SG Advanced Manufacturing Index saw the volume of trading turnover in May climb by about a third from the activity in April, reaching the highest monthly tally since March 2023, according to the Singapore Exchange.

The manufacturing-related index yielded 4.4% in total return last month, outstripping the 2.6% total return of the STI as well as the 0.3% total return recorded by the iEdge S-Index during the same period. STI Banks, meanwhile, booked 3.6% in total returns.

Despite the improvement, the index still recorded $60m in net institutional outflow in May following Seatrium’s $169m net outflow last month. 

The SGX noted that the higher trading activity of manufacturing stocks “has coincided with an increasingly cautiously optimistic outlook for industrial-driven global growth going into 2025, fueled by both innovation and sustainability shifts.”

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Mermaid Maritime were among the top 10 actively traded companies in the index with the most gains last month.

 YZJ Shipbuilding, Mermaid Maritime and Marco Polo Marine also enjoyed the largest net institutional inflow proportionate to market cap.

The index started the year on a strong note after booking $68m in net institutional inflows in the first few months of 2024.