US equities closed higher last week, with the S&P 500 at 7,743.41 (+1.21%) and the Nasdaq Composite at 27,068.72 (+2.06%), while Singapore's Straits Times Index ended at 5,711.12, up 0.97%. This is a quarter-end week with only two US earnings on the calendar, a light data slate, and mainland China's week-long holiday closing Stock Connect and thinning volumes across Asia.

Earnings calendar: Micron leads a thin quarter-end slate

Quarter-end reporting is sparse. Micron Technology reports after Wednesday's close and Accenture before it; those are the only two US names on this week's calendar. No Singapore-listed company is scheduled to report, so the local reporting season stays dormant until October.

Micron is the week's marquee event. Sell-side estimates point to earnings per share rising roughly 940% year on year, powered by AI-related demand and higher memory prices, a pace that could make the chipmaker the single largest contributor to S&P 500 earnings growth, ahead of Nvidia. The debate is whether memory pricing holds into 2027 and how far rising capital expenditure compresses gross margins. Accenture's AI bookings and enterprise consulting guidance offer a read on how far corporate AI budgets are actually converting into revenue.

Economic calendar: China PMIs and a thin US slate

Monday brings the Dallas Fed general business activity index (prior 11.6) and Singapore's August industrial production, where consensus looks for a 17.6% year-on-year rise after 6.8% in July, with month-on-month growth seen steady at 2.3%. Tuesday is the busiest US session: the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city house price index (+0.2% month on month, +2.2% year on year expected), FHFA house prices, JOLTS job openings (7.24 million versus 7.271 million) and the Conference Board consumer confidence gauge (90 versus 89.4). The euro zone's economic sentiment indicator is expected at 99.

Wednesday shifts to Asia. China's official manufacturing PMI is seen at 50.1, back above the 50 mark from 49.8, while the RatingDog manufacturing reading is expected at 51.6. Japan's preliminary August industrial production is forecast to rise 1.7% month on month after a 0.2% fall. No central bank decision sits on this week's calendar, though reports point to the August core PCE deflator and September nonfarm payrolls landing later in the week, alongside a heavy run of Federal Reserve speakers.

US: what to watch

Quarter-end positioning and the AI capital-spending debate dominate the tape. Meta fell about 4% last week after Goldman Sachs flagged revenue hurdles for AI infrastructure investment, the first of the mega-caps to be marked down on that argument, even as other brokers kept a constructive longer-term view. Micron's numbers and guidance will test whether the memory upcycle is still intact into 2027. The reported PCE and payrolls combination then resets rate expectations ahead of the October Fed meeting. Cross-asset signals are already strained: benchmark Treasury yields reported above 5% and spot gold near $4,264 an ounce.

Singapore: what to watch

The STI closed at 5,711.12, up 0.97% on the week. With no local earnings on the calendar, Monday's August industrial production print is the domestic focus, alongside any read-through from Micron's result into Singapore's semiconductor and electronics supply chain. Regional market mechanics matter too: mainland China's Golden Week holiday shuts the Stock Connect channels, and thin volumes can amplify moves across the region. No MAS policy meeting appears on this week's calendar, leaving the index's heavyweights — the three local banks and SGX — as the main drivers of the STI's direction.

Risks to watch

Washington and Tehran have reportedly edged toward another round of indirect talks, possibly as early as Monday, with the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear terms still unresolved; a breakdown would put oil supply back in play. A disappointing Micron guide would hit the memory and equipment complex, and any push higher in long-end US yields would pressure valuation-sensitive growth names globally. Golden Week's thin liquidity is a risk in itself, exaggerating moves in both directions.

For information only; not investment advice.