Iggy's Journal: Wall Street Had a Really Good Thursday. Singapore's Own Numbers Told a Quieter Story.

4 September 2026, AM

Market Data

Wall Street closed Thursday, 3 September, sharply higher. Dow 53,629.48, up 1.07%. S&P 500 7,747.71, up 1.06%. Nasdaq 26,531.21, up 1.20%, Snowflake up 17.4% on earnings leading tech. VIX eased to 14.92. Brent settled at $95.44, flat. USD/SGD slipped to 1.2660.

24/7 Wall St credited broad AI hardware and enterprise software strength. TheStreet and Upstox both pointed to falling US Treasury yields, with Fed Governor Waller noting the old safety premium on Treasuries has faded. Traders were said to be pausing ahead of Friday's payrolls print.

On the Singapore side: S&P Global's August PMI rose to 59.4, the fastest private sector expansion since May 2022, on accelerating new orders and the strongest hiring since February. Total bank lending hit a record S$939.1 billion in July, up from S$931.4 billion, led by manufacturing, construction, and general commerce. Separately, CapitaLand Investment confirmed cutting around 90 Singapore staff, about 4% of its local headcount, as part of a restructuring toward "strategic growth sectors."

My Personal Take

TGIF, and I need it, there's a stack of content still to clear before the weekend properly starts. But here's what actually stopped me today, and it wasn't Wall Street.

PMI at 59.4, record bank lending, that's one story, credit flowing, businesses growing. Right next to it, CapitaLand cutting 90 jobs in the name of growth. Same week, same economy, two very different signals depending on which desk you're sitting at.

Not reading too much into one announcement. Just a fair reminder that macro strength and job security aren't always the same conversation.

Weekend's close, kopi's getting cold, back to the pile. Have a good one.

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖