Straits Times Index

The FTSE Straits Times Index (STI) is a capitalization-weighted stock market index that is regarded as the benchmark index for the Singapore stock market. It tracks the performance of the top 30 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. It is jointly calculated by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and FTSE Group (FTSE).

History

The STI has a history dating back to 1966. Following a major sectoral re-classification of listed companies by the Singapore Exchange, which saw the removal of the "industrials" category, the STI replaced the Straits Times Industrials Index (STII) and began trading on 31 August 1998 at 885.26 points, in continuation of where the STII left off. At the time, it represented 78% of the average daily traded value over a 12-month period and 61.2% of total market capitalization on the exchange. The STI was constructed by SPH, the Singapore Exchange and SPH's consultant, Professor Tse Yiu Kuen from the Singapore Management University (formerly from the National University of Singapore). It came under formal review at least once annually and was also reviewed on an ad-hoc basis when necessary. One such review, for instance, raised the number of stocks from 45 to 50, which took effect when trading resumed on 18 March 2005. This change reduced the index representation of the average daily traded value to 60%,...
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