SG Morning Brief｜STI Hits 5,660 on Bank Gains, US Fed Rally
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.The STI closed at 5,660.52 (+0.5%) on Thursday as DBS, OCBC and UOB advanced. Wall Street rallied after the Fed's 25bp hike to 3.75%-4%: S&P 500 +1.1%, Nasdaq +1.7%, NVIDIA +2.5% and Intel +7.7%. Friday brings US industrial production and consumer sentiment.
Key Points
- The STI closed Thursday (Sep 17) up 0.5% at 5,660.52; gainers beat losers 276 to 232 on S$1.7bn of turnover.
- Singapore macro: the latest MAS survey of professional forecasters lifts 2026 GDP to 5% and sees core inflation at 1.9%.
- US overnight: the Fed raised 25bp to 3.75%-4%; the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, Nasdaq 1.7% and the Dow 316 points as Treasury yields eased.
- Key movers: $Nvidia (NVDA.US)$ +2.5% and $Intel (INTC.US)$ +7.7% on SK Hynix foundry talk and a Barclays upgrade.
- US Friday data: industrial production and capacity utilisation due 1:15 AM SGT Saturday; UMich sentiment at 10:00 PM SGT.
Singapore Open
The Straits Times Index added 25.11 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,660.52 on Thursday (Sep 17), keeping the benchmark comfortably above 5,600.
Banks led the move. $DBS (D05.SG)$ rose 0.2% to S$76.94, $OCBC (O39.SG)$ added 0.3% to S$31.28 and $UOB (U11.SG)$ jumped 1.6% to S$41.88. The outperformance in UOB reflects the STI's bank-heavy skew, and breadth was healthy: across the wider market 276 counters rose versus 232 that fell. $Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (BS6.SG)$ was the blue-chip leader, up 1.8% to S$5.14, while $Singapore Airlines (C6L.SG)$ ticked up about 0.5% to S$6.51.
Singapore Macro
The MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters this week raised the median 2026 GDP estimate to 5% from 3.5% in June, with headline CPI seen at 2.1% and MAS core inflation at 1.9%. MTI had already upgraded its official 2026 growth range to 4.5%-5.5%, citing a better-than-expected first half and accelerating global AI-related capital expenditure.
For SGX investors the read-through is twofold: resilient growth supports credit demand and bank earnings, while core inflation near 2% reduces pressure on MAS to lean hawkish and underpins the SGD NEER path. The main external risk remains the US rate trajectory: the firmer the higher-for-longer signal, the more it caps how far SGD rates and bank net interest margins can ease.
US Overnight
Wall Street rallied after the Fed delivered its first hike in three years, lifting rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4% and signalling the dot plot could still show one more move this year. Instead of punishing equities, the decision was read as confidence that inflation is being brought under control, and Treasuries rallied with the 10-year yield easing to around 4.96%. The Dow added 316 points (0.6%) to about 51,835, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to roughly 7,626 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.7% to about 21,507. Jobless claims of 196,000 came in below expectations, while housing starts disappointed.
Key Movers
$Nvidia (NVDA.US)$ +2.5% — The stock closed at $219.34 after CEO Jensen Huang said chip sales should double next year, driven by AI adoption across industries.
$Intel (INTC.US)$ +7.7% — Shares surged to $108.80 on reports that SK Hynix is exploring making memory chips through Intel's US foundry business, alongside Barclays' upgrade from Underperform to Overweight. At a roughly $534bn market valuation, the rally prices a turnaround; a foundry deal would be the clearest validation yet.
$Nokia (NOK.US)$ +4.5% — Extended its recent gains to close at $10.60.
Asia Pre-Market
US equity futures were roughly flat to slightly higher in early Asian trade, with data still thin ahead of Friday's US open. WTI crude slipped about 0.8% to around $96.64 a barrel, unwinding part of the week's Middle East-driven spike. NYMEX gold settled near $4,399.70 an ounce, up 0.2%, while spot gold recovered toward the $4,340 area. Bitcoin traded near $76,000, up about 0.7%.
The pullback in crude is the most useful signal for the SGX open: it eases fuel-cost pressure that tends to hit airlines and manufacturers, and supports the case that this week's oil spike was geopolitical rather than durable demand-led inflation.
Today's US Earnings and Economic Calendar
No notable US earnings are scheduled for Friday. The week's only major report came from homebuilder $Lennar (LEN.US)$, which posted fiscal Q3 EPS of $1.23 versus a $1.29 consensus and revenue of $8.05 billion versus $8.33 billion.
| Company | Timing | Consensus EPS |
|---|---|---|
| $Lennar (LEN.US)$ | Post-mkt Tue Sep 15 (early Wed SGT) | $1.29 (actual $1.23) |
On the data side, the Friday US session is light, but the afternoon industrial-production report rounds out the August activity picture and the preliminary Michigan sentiment reading lands Friday evening Singapore time.
| SGT | ET | Event | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1:15 AM | Fri 1:15 PM | Industrial Production MoM (Aug) | 0.3% |
| Sat 1:15 AM | Fri 1:15 PM | Capacity Utilization (Aug) | 76.4% |
| Fri 10:00 PM | Fri 10:00 AM | Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Sep, prelim) | n/a |
One More Thing
When the Fed hikes and bond yields still fall, the move is about removing uncertainty rather than chasing growth. The tell this week is breadth: a bank-led STI advance with 276 gainers against 232 losers is healthier than a tech-only melt-up, and it can hold up only if the US 10-year yield stays near or below 5%. Watch whether Friday's industrial production confirms the soft landing that the Fed's hike implies.
This briefing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
This briefing is compiled with AI assistance from market data and wire reports, and reviewed by the Longbridge editorial team before publication.