Iggy's Journal: US Treasury Yields Just Hit 4.8% – What It Means for Your SGX Portfolio

2 September 2026, AM

Overnight Read:

Wall Street had a rough session: Dow -0.79% (52,766.88), S&P 500 -0.71% (7,631.47), Nasdaq -1.03% (26,099.77). Tech hardware hit hardest – Micron -2.6%, AMD -2.4%, Dell -6.8%. Drivers: renewed Gulf military strikes pushed crude sharply higher, feeding into bond yields. 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.797%. Fed Chair Warsh flagged persistent inflation, signaling policy may stay restrictive or tighten further. VIX +9.52% to 16.34. Brent settled +4.6% at $94.65/barrel (per Business Times; other feeds range $91.50–$95.22 – treat as directional).

Locally, STI dropped 0.78% to 5,710, intraday low 5,697.81, on broad blue-chip weakness (SGX, GuocoLand -0.45% to S$2.20). MAS began consultation on Payment Services Act amendments for single-currency stablecoins; Enterprise Singapore's enhanced 70% SME loan risk-share took effect today.

My Personal Take:

The 10-year Treasury at 4.8% is the key number today, more than daily index moves. Rising yields tend to weigh on S-REITs, as valuations are benchmarked against risk-free rates – a higher rate makes REIT yields less attractive, all else equal. Banks generally benefit from higher rates via net interest margins, but that's a tailwind, not a guarantee. If you hold a REIT-heavy CPF/SRS income portfolio, this macro backdrop matters more than any single STI session, which today looks like broad risk-off following Wall Street.

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

Cheers, Iggy 🦖