The STI rose to a new all-time closing high on hopes of Middle East peace

Date: April 20, 2026

• Reopening of Straits of Hormuz pushed the STI up to a new high of 5,021.2 on Wed
• For the week, the STI posted a 0.16% rise at 4,997.93
• Oil prices fell below US$100 so S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at new highs
• Doubts linger over Middle East situation
• StarHub hands Ensign InfoSecurity control back to Temasek in S$115 million deal, books S$200 million gain
• Sembcorp led institutional inflows in April, Oiltek among best performers: SGX Research
• Technology stocks helping iEdge Next 50 Liquidity Index outperform STI: SGX Research
• Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT Q1 distributable income rises 4.3% on higher adjusted NPI
• Keppel DC Reit posts 13.2% higher Q1 DPU of S$0.02833 
• Seatrium says no material impact expected even as customers defer maintenance and repair work amid Mid-East conflict

 

Hopes of Middle East calm sent the STI to a record close on Wed

News that the Straits of Hormuz has been reopened and that the Iran war might soon end helped lift stock prices last week, especially on Wall Street.

Here, the Straits Times Index first rose to a new all-time closing high of 5,021.20 on Wednesday 15^th April but despite the US market’s strength and oil prices falling below US$100 a barrel, failed to build on that rise, eventually falling back to 4,997.93.

For the week, the index gained about 8 points or 0.16%.

Oil prices fell below US$100 so S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at new highs

On Friday the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.5%, its thirteenth daily gain in a row, the longest since 1992. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% to close above 7,000 for the first time. Both ended the week at record closing highs.

The Dow surged 869 points, or 1.8%, and nearly exited correction territory before paring its gains late in the afternoon.

For the week, the S&P gained 4.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 6.8% and the blue-chip Dow added 3.2%.

“Driven by improving sentiment regarding the Middle East, this week’s return to record levels highlights the market’s eagerness to refocus on themes that were in place before the conflict began,” Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management market research and strategy team was quoted as saying in a report in US newspaper Barron’s.

Crude oil futures decreased around 11.4% this week to settle around US$85, and Brent futures also dropped, by 3.5% to US$91 per barrel as of post-market Friday.

Doubts linger over Middle East situation

While temporarily reopened on April 17 following a Lebanon ceasefire, Iran reversed course and announced “strict management” again on April 18 due to a continued US naval blockade. Several commercial ships have turned back, creating high uncertainty and unsafe conditions for transit.

StarHub hands Ensign InfoSecurity control back to Temasek in S$115 million deal, books S$200 million gain

Starhub said it will give majority control of joint venture (JV) Ensign InfoSecurity to co-shareholder Temasek in a S$115 million deal that closes out a seven-year governance arrangement and books the telco a fair-value gain of more than S$200 million for the financial year ended 31 Dec 2026.

StarHub said the move will “partially monetise” its investment in Ensign Infosecurity while retaining strategic participation, allowing it to redeploy capital towards other strategic and core business investments.

Ensign Technologies will pay StarHub S$115 million in cash, to be settled within 15 business days. The two parties have also agreed that Ensign InfoSecurity will distribute S$6 million in cash to StarHub by way of a capital reduction, as soon as reasonably practicable, after completion.

Sembcorp led institutional inflows in April, Oiltek among best performers: SGX Research

In a 14 April Market Update, SGX Research reported that net institutional inflow in April has been the strongest in Industrials, Technology and Utilities sectors.

“Within Technology, inflows have included businesses such as AEM Holdings, UMS Holdings and Frencken Group, which operate within semiconductor manufacturing and test ecosystems’’ said SGX Research, adding that industrial stocks including ST Engineering, Seatrium and SATS have also seen inflows, with exposure spanning defence, infrastructure, and logistics‑related businesses.

SGX Research also said Sembcorp Industries has recorded the highest net institutional inflow in April and is trading close to its consensus target price of S$6.92, whilst Oiltek International ranked among the strongest performing stocks among the 30 stocks that booked the highest net institutional inflow over the first 8 sessions of April.

“Since end-February, the stock has surged from S$0.73 to all-time highs above S$2.00. The stock’s average bid‑offer spread is close to half the width it was at this time last year. The stock has also been trading S$2.5 million a day in 2026, up from S$0.6 million in 2025’’ it said.

Technology stocks helping iEdge Next 50 Liquidity Index outperform STI: SGX Research

In a Thursday Market Update, SGX Research said that with a 9.7% total return in the 2026 year through to the April 16 morning trading session, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Liquidity Weighted Index has edged ahead of the STI 8.9% total return, reflecting the latter’s sustained trading activity, rather than size, driving index leadership.

“Technology is becoming structurally significant within the index. Technology stocks now account for around one‑fifth of total weight, led by UMS Integration and iFAST Corporation, which currently sit at the top end of the liquidity‑weighted ranking’’ said SGX Research.

“A key distinction lies in index composition. The two largest weights in the liquidity weighted index sit on different parts of the technology and digital economy, with UMS Integration and iFAST Corporation currently carrying weights of 5.6% and 5.0%, respectively. Frencken Group ranks as the sixth largest constituent at 4.6%. In aggregate, four technology stocks now account for 19% of the index’’.

On Thursday, UMS jumped S$0.13 or 7.3% to S$1.92 on volume of 31.7m.

Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT Q1 distributable income rises 4.3% on higher adjusted NPI

Keppel Oak Pacific REIT (Kore) reported a distributable income of US$10 million for its first quarter ended March, up 4.3%.

The improvement came as the US office-focused real estate investment trust recorded a 13.6% year-on-year increase in net property income (NPI) to US$22.3 million.

Its adjusted NPI, which excludes non-cash straight-line rent, lease incentives and amortisation of leasing commissions, rose 15.9% to US$23.4 million. Revenue for the quarter climbed 5.1% on the year to US$38.7 million.

Keppel DC Reit posts 13.2% higher Q1 DPU of S$0.02833

Keppel DC Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.02833 for its first quarter, an increase of 13.2% year-on-year.

Distributable income for the period stood at S$74.6 million, a 20.7% rise.

Net property income rose 19.4% to S$105.2 million for Q1, from S$88.1 million whilst revenue for the period was up 18.4% on the year at S$121 million.

The manager said this increase was due to higher contributions from contract renewals and escalations, as well as the Tokyo Data Centre 3 acquisition, though partially offset by the divestment of Kelsterbach Data Centre in Frankfurt, Germany.

As at Mar 31, gearing stood at 35.1% with the average cost of debt at 2.6%. The interest coverage ratio fell to 7.2 times, due to higher finance costs associated with increased loans drawn in the fourth quarter of FY2025.

Seatrium says no material impact expected even as customers defer maintenance and repair work amid Mid-East conflict

Seatrium on Thursday said it has no major Middle East-related projects in its order book, with its presence in the region limited to its subsidiary, Seatrium Offshore Technology (SOT), which provides rig kits and MRO services.

“To date, the impact of the conflict on SOT’s rig kit supply operations in the Middle East has been limited, with no customer contract cancellations or deferments,” said Seatrium.

“However, MRO activity has moderated as some customers in the region have temporarily paused operations and deferred MRO services’’.

Still, Seatrium does not expect the softer MRO activity to materially affect the group.

The company was responding to a shareholder’s query, ahead of its annual general meeting on Apr 22, on the impact of the Middle East conflict on its regional operations, projects and delivery schedules.

“At this juncture, supply chain impact arising from the conflict remains limited and indirect,” added Seatrium.

“In line with usual procurement risk mitigation measures, schedule buffers and early procurement strategies are in place for critical items. Key equipment for the group’s ongoing projects is also largely manufactured outside the Middle East.”