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The Straits Times Index fell 1.88 points, or 0.03%, to close at 5,396.03 on Thursday, giving back an early advance that had carried the index as high as 5,439.50 intraday. Decliners edged out advancers 15 to 12, with three stocks unchanged, as a sharp slide in Wilmar International offset gains led by OCBC and Genting Singapore.

Thursday's session was shaped largely by Singapore's intensifying scrutiny of possible links between agribusiness operations and the regional haze. The government summoned executives from several plantation companies, including Wilmar, after fires in Indonesia raised forest-fire risk questions; the Singapore Exchange separately sought clarification from the firms involved, and so far only Wilmar has responded. That pressure weighed on plantation-linked names even as the broader market opened firmer — the index touched 5,417.43 in early trade, with OCBC among the session's biggest percentage gainers near the open — before fading through the rest of the day.

Session Movers

Wilmar International (F34.SG, -4.89%) fell to $3.11, the basket's worst performer, after agreeing to fund an independent inquiry — directed by Singapore's National Environment Agency — into whether its operations are linked to haze-causing fires in Indonesia; the company said a fire had occurred at one of its Indonesian plantations and that police are investigating. The haze-linked selloff overshadowed third-quarter results also released Thursday, which showed a return to profit of S$359.8 million, recovering from a year-earlier loss tied to a S$912 million compensation payment to Indonesia, as revenue rose 13.6% to S$27.8 billion on the consolidation of AWL Agri Business. Shares trade at 11.11 times earnings, cheaper than roughly 37% of the past five years, with a consensus Hold rating.

Genting Singapore (G13.SG, +1.69%) rose to $0.60 even as the haze overhang that has weighed on the stock in recent weeks remained unresolved: CGS International cut its price target to S$0.63 from S$0.67 on Oct. 23, citing haze and adverse weather curbing the recovery in visitor numbers and projecting a 19.2% year-on-year decline in third-quarter EBITDA. Shares trade at 22.83 times earnings, above their own three-year range, with a consensus Hold rating.

OCBC (O39.SG, +1.07%) advanced to $29.34. Bank of Singapore, the group's private banking arm, added two senior bankers in Dubai to expand coverage of high-net-worth clients across the Middle East and South Asia, while OCBC separately deepened its Alipay+ partnership to extend travel benefits across seven destinations including China, Japan and South Korea. Shares trade at 2.04 times book, above their own range though cheaper than roughly 5% of the past five years, with a consensus Buy rating implying about 6% upside.

Singapore Exchange (S68.SG, -1.2%) slipped to $20.55 even as its proposed FY2026 capital return — a one-off tax-exempt dividend of 12.5 cents plus a higher final dividend of 11.5 cents per share, subject to AGM approval — drew fresh analyst attention Thursday. Commentary flagged execution risks around cost conversion and fee resilience as the bourse operator continues investing in multi-asset expansion and technology, even as the payout itself does not change the operating thesis. Chief executive succession planning remains under way, with third-quarter results still due this week. Shares trade at 31.83 times earnings, in line with their own range, with a consensus Hold rating implying about 15% upside.

One point worth noting

The index's near-flat close masks a sharp intraday round trip: the STI touched 5,439.50 — more than 43 points, or about 0.8%, above Thursday's eventual close — before fading through the session to finish at 5,396.03, just 1.3 points above the day's low of 5,394.71. Early trade had been firmly higher, with the index briefly at 5,417.43 and OCBC up as much as 1.9%; the retreat from those highs suggests the morning's optimism did not hold through the close.