Closing in on the 5,000 mark

Date: February 9, 2026

• The STI set three consecutive all-time highs on Tues-Thursday
• Wall St’s Thursday plunge capped the STI’s weekly gain to 0.5% at 4,934.41 after Thursday’s record high of 4,975.87
• AI concerns were behind Wall St’s Thursday selloff, but…
• Wall Street rebounded strongly on Friday, the Dow closed above 50,000 for the first time
• Singtel surged after news of data centre acquisition
• Keppel H2 profit from continuing operations up 27.2% to S$645.4m
• SGX’s 1H net profit up 0.8% to S$342.7 million.
• KORE to resume distribution despite drop in distributable income

 

Three all-time highs for the STI, the latest being 4,975.87

After rising to three consecutive all-time highs between Tuesday and Thursday, the Straits Times Index fell sharply on Friday in response to a large, tech-triggered overnight selloff on Wall Street.

However, the index still managed a net gain of about 29 points or 0.5% at 4,934.41 for the week, having reached a new all-time closing high of 4,975.87 on Thursday. Average daily volume was just under S$2b versus around S$1.7b the previous week.

US tech selloff continued, heightened volatility the name of the game, but…

Tech stocks on Wall Street have been weak lately, mainly on concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) will undermine earnings of software developers.

On Thursday, the selling gathered pace after Alphabet’s earnings failed to inspire confidence in the sector, but the rest of the market joined in the slide after labour market data on Thursday did little to reassure investors.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S. employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, which was the most in the first month of a year since 2009. Initial jobless claims also came in above exceptions.

The CBOE Volatility Index surged 12% to 20.91 on Thursday, a fresh high for the year. A reading north of 20 starts to signal heightened volatility in markets. The VIX had surged as high as 60.13 during the April tariff selloff last year.

Wall Street enjoyed a large rebound on Friday

However, there was a large rebound on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 1,206 points, or 2.5%, to close above 50,000 for the first time.

The S&P 500 rallied 2%, approaching its highest levels on record. The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.2%. Cryptos, small-caps, software, and other riskier assets that were hammered earlier in the week all rebounded.

The buying took off after the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index clocked in at 57.3 for February, well above expectations at 54.3.

“Median 1-year inflation expectations hit the lowest since January 2025, providing some comfort for investors eager to see improving inflation metrics,” writes Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial.

In addition, Bitcoin reached a new low on Thursday’s post-market hours of US$60,230.14 before rising more than 14% on Friday. The cryptocurrency has suffered a 43% decline since its peak of US$126,223.32.

For the week, the S&P dipped 0.10%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.8%, and the blue-chip Dow added +2.5%.

Singtel surged after news of data centre acquisition

Singtel’s shares jumped S$0.22 or 4.7% on Tuesday to S$4.86 after news that the telco is partnering private equity giant KKR to buy Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres for S$6.6b, a deal which is expected to propel Singtel to a top-tier position in the Asia-Pacific data centre space.

The momentum however, did not last and Singtel ended the week at S$4.72.

In a Business Times report, Maybank analyst Hussaini Saifee noted that Singtel expects between 30 and 35% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to come from its growth engines: AI, data centres and its subsidiary NCS.

In reiterating a “buy’’ on the stock, he set a 12-month target price of S$5.08.

Paul Chew, head of research at Phillip Securities Research, added that the deal lays the foundation for future growth, especially post-Singtel28.

Bloomberg Intelligence, too, noted that the acquisition will accelerate the group’s pivot towards digital infrastructure as a core growth engine. While doing so, it will be able to diversify market exposure to mitigate geopolitical risks.

Singtel said the transaction is expected to have minimal impact on the group’s financial position. Despite the S$740 million cash outlay, analysts believe that it will not impact the telco’s growth.

Saifee pointed out that the group’s balance sheet is in a strong position with about 1.1 times net debt to EBITDA. He expects this to increase only by a factor of 1.2 times on the back of STT GDC investments.

He added that Singtel has identified a potential pipeline of about S$10 billion to S$15 billion worth of assets for capital recycling.

Keppel H2 profit from continuing operations up 27.2% to S$645.4m

Shares of Keppel jumped S$0.67 or 6.1% to S$11.62 on volume of 16m on Thursday after the asset manager posted a 27.2% rise in second half earnings and announced former DBS chief Piyush Gupta as its chairman-designate. The stock ended the week at S$11.64.

Full year FY2025 net profit was S$1.1 billion, a 39% increase from S$793 million in FY2024.  The improvements were attributed to profit growth across all its three business segments of infrastructure, real estate and connectivity.

Keppel has proposed a S$0.47 per share final dividend for the financial year. This comprises ordinary cash dividends of S$0.34 per share and a special dividend of S$0.13 per share proposed by the board.

Separately on Thursday, the asset manager named former DBS chief executive officer and Temasek India chairman Gupta as chairman-designate.

The 66-year-old will assume the role of chairman from 17 April, having been appointed as Keppel’s deputy chairman and non-executive independent director in July 2025.

SGX’s 1H net profit up 0.8% to S$342.7 million.

The Singapore Exchange reported a 0.8% rise in net profit for its first half ended Dec 31, 2025, to S$342.7 million.

“Trading activity has broadened across sectors, driving higher turnover beyond the Straits Times Index (STI) and contributing to a more balanced liquidity profile across the market,” said chief executive Loh Boon Chye.

“Notably, interest in mid-cap and growth-oriented companies rose significantly, with institutional investors recording net purchases of S$415 million in small and mid-cap stocks over the year,” he added.

SGX’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for H1 grew 9.6% on the year to S$466.1 million.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the half-year period stood at S$0.32, up from S$0.318 for the first half of financial year 2025.

After adjusting for certain non-cash and non-recurring items that have less bearing on SGX’s operating performance, its net profit would have risen 11.6% to S$357.1 million, and its EPS would have been S$0.334.

SGX’s board of directors has declared an interim quarterly dividend of S$0.11 a share, up from the S$0.09 a share payout in the previous corresponding period. This brings total dividends in H1 FY2026 to S$0.2175 a share.

The interim quarterly dividend will be paid on Feb 24.

On Thursday following the results announcement, SGX’s shares fell S$0.11 or 0.6% to S$17.64 on volume of 4.1m. They ended the week at S$17.57.

KORE to resume distribution despite drop in distributable income

The manager of Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (KORE), said that it is resuming distributions early, with a distribution per unit (DPU) of US$0.0025 for the second half ended Dec 31, 2025.

The manager had suspended distribution payments since H2 FY2023 as part of recapitalisation plans to address capital needs and leverage concerns.

The office-focused US REIT posted a 3.1% fall in distributable income to US$23.1 million for H2 ended Dec 31 whilst revenue was up 4.9% in the half-year at US$75.6 million.

The manager attributed the decline in distributable income to higher finance and other trust expenses, which grew 8.6% to US$16.9 million in H2 FY2025.

This was partially offset by higher net cash property income (NPI), which jumped 10.3 per cent to US$40 million.

Chief executive of the manager David Snyder said that this decision was made after “carefully considering the real estate investment trust’s (REIT’s) cash-flow position, capital commitments and liquidity needs”.

“While modest, this early resumption reflects our confidence in the underlying fundamentals of the portfolio,” noted Snyder, who is also the manager’s chief investment officer.

He added that while the payout ratio remains conservative for now, it is expected to rise steadily over time to a “sustainable level” of around 80 per cent, with “substantial year-over-year growth”.

That would take several years, noted Snyder, given the current market conditions. “So we’re going to be careful and cautious as we move (forward).”

The latest distribution will be paid on Mar 30, after the record date on Feb 11.