Singapore stocks to benefit from MAS reforms next year, Morgan Stanley says
SINGAPORE, Nov 19 (Reuters) -Southeast Asia's top-performing stock market in 2024 is likely to continue its momentum into next year as Singapore unveils measures to revive its stock market, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Singapore's Straits Times Index .STI, comprising 30 biggest companies in the city-state, hit a 17-year high on Tuesday, bringing its year-to-date gains to 17%. It has outperformed regional peers, with the MSCI index of ASEAN stocks .MISU00000PUS up 10% over the same period.
Analysts are bullish on the overlooked market in the near term, citing central bank's efforts to boost stock markets and the U.S. election uncertainty favoring defensive positioning.
In August, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it had formed a review group to recommend steps to strengthen the development of the equities market in the island country, which hosts more than $4 trillion of assets under management.
"The combination of seemingly stronger political will and low market expectations drives our conviction that soon-to-be announced initiatives will likely have a meaningfully positive market impact, even if their exact details are still to be fleshed out," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.
Singapore is one of the most preferred markets in Morgan Stanley's Asia equity strategy, ranked second only to India in its Asia Pacific ex-Japan market allocation.
The brokerage said the new measures will likely lift stock trading liquidity through capital infusion, with valuations potentially rising as much as 20% to narrow the gap with global peers.
Singapore stocks currently trade at 10.68 times its forward earnings, a commonly used valuation metric, below Malaysia's Bursa Index .KLSE at 15 times and Australia's ASX 200 at 18 times.
Singapore Exchange SGXL.SI, United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI, Singapore Telecom STEL.SI, Sembcorp Industries SCIL.SI and CapitaLand Investment CAPN.SI are part of Morgan Stanley's Singapore focus list.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Singapore stocks to "market weight" earlier this week, citing its constructive view on banks, technology and telecom sectors.
Singapore stocks outperform rivals in the region in 2024 https://tmsnrt.rs/3OgCiOM
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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