Iggy’s Journal: SGX Opens Today After Friday’s US Drop

Mon 19 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

The STI closed Friday 16 Oct at 5,415.53, up 12.03 points or 0.22%, before the US session opened. The US then fell. The Dow closed at 52,002.41 (down 0.34%), the S&P 500 at 7,659.44 (down 1.09%) and the Nasdaq at 26,140.03 (down about 2.1%). The Associated Press attributed the fall to selling in technology and semiconductor shares, on concern about how long AI infrastructure spending can continue without squeezing earnings. Today is the first SGX session since that drop, and it opens at 9am.

Business Times headlines this morning include S-REITs starting their Q3 earnings season with interest rates in focus, DBS remaining analysts’ pick ahead of Q3 earnings after the banks’ share slump, and AI funding fears puncturing a rally in Asia’s picks-and-shovels stocks. I have read the headlines only.

My Personal Take

The first session after a big overseas fall is a noisy one, so I will watch the three banks rather than the index. DBS, UOB and OCBC dividends are what many heartland households live on, and a slump in the shares lifts the yield only if the dividend holds. That question belongs to the Q3 results, not to a Monday morning. On Friday I said this was the session I would check first, and the bank prices at the open are where I start.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

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