Middle East conflict, surging oil prices sent STI down 2.9% to 4,848.25, led by banks

Date: March 9, 2026

• Banks led the index lower amidst worries over Middle East conflict
• Surging oil prices, weak jobs report pressurize US stocks, weaken case for rate cuts
• Rising inflation worries pressurize US Treasuries, yields rising
• UI Boustead REIT launched IPO at S$0.88 per unit
• Analysts positive on Sheng Siong
• Analysts downgraded PropNex on expected slowdown in home sales
• CSE Global in play after announcement of “strategic review’’
  

Led by the banks, the STI fell 2.9% as geopolitical risk rose sharply

The current war on Iran sent oil prices surging and investors running for cover last week. US stocks and Treasuries have been hit by rising inflationary worries whilst selling pressure has spread to all other markets.

Here, the Straits Times Index last week dived 147 points or 2.9% to 4,848.25 in average daily volume of S$3b versus S$2.5b the week before.

The trio of banks led the decline – DBS fell S$2.12 or 3.7% to S$55, OCBC lost S$0.61 or 2.8% at S$20.82 whilst UOB dropped S$0.90 or S$2.4% to S$36.07.

Surging oil prices, weak jobs report pressurize US stocks and bonds, weaken case for rate cuts

Wall Street ended the week lower as conflict in the Middle East erupted after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, triggering war escalations between the US and Israel vs. Iran and uncertainty within oil supply chains.

Oil prices rose more than 36% this week, while oil and gas producers, refiners, and energy infrastructure companies also surged WTI Crude reached a high of US$92.61 per barrel, while Brent jumped to exceed US$94.55.

Disruption to traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is expected to last, heightening volatility across commodities, as U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the US has sufficient weapons and munitions to achieve its military objectives in Iran.

Moreover, U.S. Treasury yields rose significantly as the ISM Manufacturing Prices gauge jumped more than expected in February, raising inflation concerns.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose almost 20 basis points over the week to about 4.17% on Friday. The 2-year yield which is more sensitive to US Fed policy, rose by 17.7 basis points to 3.554%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

For the week, the S&P 500 lost 2.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.2%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.0%.

Escalations in the war in the Middle East have traders worried about the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil generally flows. Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, noted the spike in oil followed a strike on a US oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

“The longer the war lasts, the more it will straitjacket the Strait of Hormuz, increasing the risk of stagflationary economic outcomes in the US and other countries,” Yardeni writes.

“In this scenario, the Fed would be in a straitjacket too, unable to cut rates because of rising inflation, even if the economy weakens.”

UI Boustead REIT launched IPO at S$0.88 per unit

UI Boustead Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) launched its initial public offering (IPO) of about 677.2 million units at S$0.88 each, and is expected to start trading on the Singapore Exchange mainboard on Mar 12.

It expects to raise gross proceeds of around S$1.2 billion from the offer and issuance of cornerstone units. Including debt facilities and the sponsor and Boustead Projects contribution, the trust will have just over S$2 billion in proceeds.

The manager has earmarked around S$1.9 billion for the acquisition of properties, S$40.6 million for the payment of refundable consumption tax, S$36.9 million for issue expenses, S$43.4 million for transaction costs, and the remaining S$19.7 million for working capital and cash reserves.

The company registered its prospectus on Thursday offering a public tranche of 33.9 million units. Some 643.3 million are being offered as placement units.

Cornerstone investors, including Amova Asset Management and Amundi’s Singapore and Malaysia entities, have entered into separate agreements to subscribe to around 429.2 million new units.

Following the offering, UI Boustead Reit will have a total market capitalisation of S$1.95 billion.

Analysts positive on Sheng Siong

CGS International (CGSI) upgraded Sheng Siong Group to “add” from “hold”, citing a stronger-than-expected pipeline of new stores and sustained expansion in gross margins.

In a note on Tuesday the research house raised its target price on the supermarket operator to S$2.97, from S$2.40. The move comes as Sheng Siong posted an 8.7% rise in net profit for the full year ended Dec 31, 2025 to S$149.5 million, supported by a record number of new store openings.

Meanwhile Maybank said amid geopolitical volatility, Sheng Siong remains defensive given its staples-focused model and strong cost pass-through mechanisms.

“While higher oil prices may increase freight and product costs, Singapore’s “price taker” dynamics allow increases to be gradually reflected at the shelf level’’ said Maybank as it raised its target price for the stock from S$2.55 to S$2.90.

“Structurally, the group benefits from Singapore’s growth momentum — construction activity is projected to expand over 5% annually through 2030, population rose 1.2% YoY in 1H25, and ongoing CDC vouchers support spending. Rising HDB supply and low mall penetration provide further expansion upside’’.

Sheng Siong’s shares closed the week at S$2.59.

Analysts downgraded PropNex on expected slowdown in home sales

Analysts have downgraded their calls on PropNex on forecasts that a moderation in residential sales for 2026 could impact earnings, after the real estate firm posted record performance for 2025 last week.

Phillip Securities on Monday (Mar 2) lowered its recommendation for PropNex to “accumulate” from “buy”, on expectations of a decline in new home sales in 2026, but raised its target price to S$2.08 from S$2.02.

Meanwhile, DBS on Monday downgraded its call on the firm to “hold” and lowered its target price to S$1.95 from S$2.15, using a sum-of-the-parts approach. The bank pointed to a “more measured earnings growth profile” moving forward following a share price rally of nearly 100% in 2025.

This comes as PropNex on Friday recorded its strongest full-year revenue in its 25 year history at S$1.1 billion, from S$783 million. Net profit also rose 72% on the year to S$70.4 million for FY2025.

Paul Chew, Phillip Securities head of research, expects new home sales to decline by 17% decline for 2026, while private and HDB resale volumes are expected to be flat. However, he noted that H1 2026 earnings will register strong unbilled sales in Q4 2025.

This comes as a lower number of new launches and the absence of pent-up demand will impact new home sales, Chew said. He noted that some 8,800 units are to be launched in 2026, down from 11,409 units in 2025.

Similarly, DBS analyst Tabitha Foo projects a “more modest growth trajectory” for PropNex in FY2026 to FY2027, with a “more modest pipeline of new launches in 2026” after 2025 recorded stellar sales volumes, especially in the primary market.

PropNex’s shares ended Friday at S$1.76.

CSE Global in play after announcement of “strategic review’’

Shares of CSE Global jumped on Friday on the previous day’s news of a “strategic review”, which could include a full sale of the company.

The counter was up as much as 12.7% on Friday, climbing S$0.16 to S$1.42 as at the midday trading break – its highest since June 2007. It later pared some gains to end the day 4% or S$0.05 up at S$1.31 on heavy volume of 38.4m.

The review includes “possible transactions involving the company’s shares and/or all or part of the company’s business and assets”, the company said in a filing.

It also follows CSE Global’s receipt of a non-binding, preliminary indicative expression of interest from an unnamed party to discuss a potential strategic transaction in relation to the company.

In November, CSE Global entered into an agreement to issue nearly 63 million new warrants to a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon. Each warrant can be converted to one CSE Global share at an exercise price of S$0.7671, or a maximum total of S$48.3 million.

The warrants will fully vest on the condition that Amazon and its affiliates make qualifying payments for products and services totalling US$1.5 billion.