UOB Kay Hian has retained an overweight recommendation on Singapore's technology manufacturing sector, but advised investors to continue being particular when selecting stocks, The Edge Singapore said in a recent report.

Analyst John Cheng said stocks within the space vary greatly in terms of financial performance, noting that investors should choose those with solid fundamentals and buoyant near-term earnings visibility, according to the report.

Tech manufacturing stocks with buy ratings have performed better by 30% to 50% so far this year, driven by good market sentiment on the central bank's $5 billion equity market development program, the report cited Cheng as saying.

The analyst chose Frencken Group (SGX:E28), UMS Integration (SGX:558), and Valuetronics Holdings (SGX:BN2) as top picks due to positive sequential earnings expansion prospects from semiconductor customers, the report said.

Meanwhile, the US' looser chip restriction rule and continued import tariff exclusions for Malaysian semiconductor products, among other factors, should anchor the semiconductor industry, the report cited the equity research firm as saying.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)