• STI 5,403.50, -0.37% on Thu: Singapore tech led decliners (UMS roughly -10%, AEM about -9.9%) while the three banks began to steady.
• MAS on hold: The 14 Oct review kept S$NEER policy unchanged and narrowed the 2026 core inflation forecast to 1.5–2%.
• US overnight: Dow +556 pts (+1.08%) to 52,177.69; S&P 500 +0.33% to 7,744.06; Nasdaq +0.08% to 26,713.03.
• Ahead today: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh faces an IMF fireside chat at 11.30am SGT; Travelers reports pre-market (consensus EPS $7.36).

Singapore Open

The local bourse opens Friday defending the 5,400 line after Thursday's tech-led slide. On 15 Oct the STI closed at 5,403.50, down 19.83 points or 0.37%, with the global chip rout hitting Singapore's electronics-exposed names while the banks, which dragged the index sharply last week, started to find a floor.

Among the three banks, $DBS (D05.SG)$ closed at S$73.75 (-0.79%), $OCBC (O39.SG)$ at S$28.99 (-0.03%) and $UOB (U11.SG)$ at S$41.69 (+1.53%). UOB's rebound was the standout, with all three lenders due to report third-quarter results in early November — UOB is scheduled for 4 Nov, with DBS and OCBC in the same window. Those prints will be the next major test of whether net interest margins can hold up against softer global rate expectations.

Elsewhere, $Singapore Airlines (C6L.SG)$ slipped 0.76% to S$6.49 and $Singtel (Z74.SG)$ added 0.48% to S$4.16. Keppel fell 2.32% to S$10.12 as energy-linked exposure continued to swing with crude.

Singapore Macro

The Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its S$NEER policy band unchanged on 14 Oct, pausing after two straight tightenings and surprising most economists, who had expected a steeper appreciation slope. MAS narrowed its 2026 core inflation forecast to 1.5–2.0% from 1.5–2.5%, with headline inflation seen around 2%, and said the current band "will allow the S$NEER to continue to strengthen" to lean against near-term imported inflation. Third-quarter GDP grew 5.4% year-on-year, cooling from an upwardly revised 6.2%, but still above the 5.1% consensus.

For SGX investors, the message is mixed. A firm Singapore dollar caps imported energy and food costs, supporting the disinflation narrative that underpins REITs and rate-sensitive names. But a pause rather than a steeper slope also signals MAS sees growth-to-inflation transmission as milder than feared — meaning local rates may stay lower for longer, a mild headwind for bank margins even as AI-related orders support growth.

US Overnight

Wall Street rotated out of AI momentum and into value, healthcare and old-economy names. The Dow jumped 556 points (+1.08%) to 52,177.69, while the S&P 500 added 0.33% to 7,744.06 and the Nasdaq edged up 0.08% to 26,713.03 after staging its biggest intraday comeback since April. The September PPI rose 6.3% year-on-year, its hottest pace since 2022, yet the 10-year Treasury yield fell sharply to about 5.085%, its largest one-day decline since August — markets took AI-debt worries as the dominant theme over inflation.

Key Movers

$Nvidia (NVDA.US)$ -1.8% — The world's most-watched AI bellwether trimmed an early 3.8% loss to close near $217.23, but buyers stayed cautious as higher-rate and AI-capex sustainability concerns capped the rebound. The stock remains the main driver of semiconductor sentiment globally.

$Dell (DELL.US)$ -6.8% — The AI-server hardware name fell hard as investors questioned the profitability of hyperscaler build-outs, echoing this week's broad retreat in AI-infrastructure plays.

$Intel (INTC.US)$ -2.8% — Chip-sector selling left Intel at about $95.37, part of a sector-wide move that also pressured other semiconductor names even as the broader market rallied.

In crypto-proxy land, $Strategy (MSTR.US)$ rose 4.57% even as headlines circulated about the risk of its massive bitcoin position drawing MSCI index-eligibility scrutiny.

Asia Pre-Market

US index futures were roughly flat to modestly lower in early Asia trade, with S&P 500 futures near flat and Nasdaq 100 futures about 0.4% softer — a sign the chip overhang is not yet cleared. November WTI crude settled around US$95.9 a barrel, up about 0.8%, before easing toward US$94 in Friday's early trading. Gold rose about 1.8% to near US$4,183 an ounce as a safety bid resurfaced, while Bitcoin traded around US$80.5k–81k, off about 2.6%. The gold bid and soft tech futures suggest a cautious open for SGX, with energy names still hostage to Middle East headlines.

Today's US Earnings and Economic Calendar

Earnings Spotlight: Travelers. The property-and-casualty insurer reports pre-market today with consensus at $7.36 EPS on $11.36 billion in revenue. Travelers has beaten consensus EPS in eight straight quarters, so the initial reaction will hinge on underwriting margins and any catastrophe-loss surprises. On the macro side, Friday's Fed Chair Warsh fireside chat matters more for the broad tape than any single earnings print, coming just ahead of the Fed's 27–28 Oct meeting.

One More Thing

Look past the headline cap-weighted index. On Thursday the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 1.37% versus 0.33% for the headline index, and the Russell 2000 climbed 1.38% — money was not leaving the market, it was rotating out of AI momentum into value, healthcare and industrials. Singapore is mirroring that same rotation: UOB gained 1.5% on the day while UMS and AEM fell roughly 10%. The tell for the STI's direction is whether the locally loved banks confirm resilient margins in early-November earnings; if they do, the index's bank-heavy skew flips from drag back to support.

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.

Sources: The Business Times, Barron's, MarketBeat.