Rebounds in UOB and DBS helped the STI gain 0.25%; tech stocks sold off on AI concerns

Date: October 19, 2026

• UOB’s 4.1% rebound and DBS’s 1% rise helped the STI post 0.25% gain
• Chip stocks were sold off on AI concerns
• Investors are questioning the entire AI thesis
• Palm oil stocks slide on Friday on possible haze-related sanctions
• SGX RegCo engages listed plantation firms over haze, warns of regulatory action
• Malaysia’s King bought into Southern Alliance Mining
• Institutional money left banks and rotated into a few SMIDs: SGX Research
• Jardine Matheson raised 2026 earnings guidance as high as US$5.65 per share
• Key exports jump by higher-than-expected 68.4% in Sep, led by non-electronics

 

UOB and DBS helped STI rise 0.25%

A 4.1% rebound in UOB and a 1% rise in DBS were largely instrumental in enabling the Straits Times Index to add about 14 points or 0.25% at 5,415.53 in a week where the focus was on tech stocks which came under pressure on concerns that the artificial intelligence (AI) rally has overrun its fundamentals.

UOB rose S$1.65 to S$41.61 and DBS gained S$0.75 at S$74.11. OCBC in the meantime was unchanged over the week at S$29.

Also in focus – at least at the end of the week – were plantation stocks which were sold off after the Singapore Government announced it is looking at sanctions against companies that might be responsible for the current transboundary haze.

 

Chipmakers feel brunt of AI concerns

Semiconductor stocks suffered a sharp sell-off over the past week as investors questioned whether the artificial intelligence (AI) boom had pushed valuations too far ahead of fundamentals.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12% over six trading sessions, wiping approximately US$1.6 trillion off the sector’s market value. Rising US inflation and expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate increases added to concerns about the sustainability of massive AI-related investments.

Singapore-listed chip stocks were not spared. AEM Holdings, which had enjoyed a spectacular rally on expectations of stronger demand for semiconductor testing equipment, plunged almost 10%  cent on Thursday to S$8.80.

Meanwhile on the same day UMS Integration fell 10% to S$2.33, while Frencken declined 6.4% to S$2.20. All three however, rebounded on Friday.

 

Investors are questioning the entire AI thesis

Adding to nervousness were comments from Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan, who likened enthusiasm surrounding AI investments to gambling and warned of possible funding constraints.

Interestingly, the sell-off occurred despite encouraging results from Dutch chip equipment giant ASML, whose quarterly profit more than doubled.

The contrasting developments suggest that investors are increasingly distinguishing between genuine earnings growth and speculative expectations.

On Friday, CoreWeave, which rents out datacenter capacity, crashed 13%. CrowdStrike, which uses AI to confront the threats of AI-powered cyberattacks, was down 7%. Oracle, which builds and operates data centers, was down 4.5%.

Part of this stems from genuine questions about the funding of the AI buildout, given higher rates and increasingly urgent questions about Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s business models.

US newspaper Barron’s on Friday quoted Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research saying the market is “burnt out on AI’’.

“And the upshot of it is, equity investors are not used to being venture investors. Investors are saying, ‘It’s enough already. You all want to go off and build this science project? That’s awesome but we don’t have to be along for the ride, and we certainly don’t have to be overweight for the ride.’”

For the week, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.67%, the benchmark S&P lost 1.95%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 4.48%.

 

Palm oil stocks slide on Friday on possible haze-related sanctions

Shares of palm oil producers fell on Friday after Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Facebook that the country is looking into which companies may be responsible for haze-causing fires.

Where warranted, Singapore will take action under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and also explore joint action with other countries said Mr Wong in a Facebook post on Thursday.

First Resources fell as much as 9.1% to S$3.71 as at 9.20 am, and Bumitama Agri retreated 7.5% to an intraday low of S$1.73. Golden Agri Resources dropped as much as 6.9% to S$0.27.

A Straits Times report on Thursday cited a recent Greenpeace investigation, which named First Resources and Bumitama Agri among entities with concession areas registering haze source points.

First Resources defended itself on Thursday, stating that fires detected within its Indonesian palm oil concessions were largely caused by external blazes spreading across its boundaries. The company attributed the elevated fire risk in West Kalimantan to a “severe” El Nino-induced drought.

 

SGX RegCo engages listed plantation firms over haze, warns of regulatory action

Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has engaged listed companies with agricultural operations and plantations in Indonesia over the ongoing haze, including seeking information on whether their activities may have contributed to it.

The regulator is also asking about the impact of the forest and peatland fires on their operations and the measures being taken in response, it said on Friday.

“SGX RegCo takes the ongoing forest and peatland fires seriously, given the impact of the haze on communities, the environment and businesses,” it said.

The regulator warned that it would take “appropriate regulatory action” where companies failed to meet their disclosure obligations under the SGX Listing Rules.

SGX RegCo noted that some companies had already made announcements on the haze, including details of their no-burning and no-peat policies, hot-spot monitoring and water management.

 

Malaysia’s King bought into Southern Alliance Mining

Malaysia’s king has acquired a 2.25 per cent stake in Southern Alliance Mining, paying a premium in an off-market deal with the firm’s managing director and controlling shareholder Pek Kok Sam, the company said.

The S$6.1 million deal comes as the iron ore producer expands its presence in Malaysia’s rare earths industry.

Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar acquired the stake at S$0.425 per share, a premium of about 11.84% cent to the Monday (Oct 12) closing price, the firm said in a bourse filing that day.

SAM holds a 40% stake in MCRE Resources, which operates Malaysia’s pioneer rare earths mining site in Perak state.

The transaction did not involve the company itself, with Pek remaining its controlling shareholder, and would not result in changes to the group’s board, management or operation.

 

Institutional money left banks and rotated into a few SMIDs: SGX Research

In a Market Update last week, SGX Research said institutional net selling approached S$900 million week ended 9 Oct with the three STI banks accounting for around four-fifths of the outflow whilst at the same time, more than 90 small and mid-cap (SMIDs) booked combined net institutional inflow of more than S$110 million.

“AEM Holdings led the net inflows at S$61 million, followed by Venture Corporation, UMS Integration, Q&M Dental and DFI Retail Group. Beyond these names, institutional buying extended across industrial, consumer, healthcare and real estate stocks’’ said SGX Research.

“While the three STI banks declined an average 7% over the week, the 93 SMIDs with net institutional inflow averaged a 0.5% decline. This suggests some selective institutional participation beyond the index heavyweights, rather than broad-based buying or selling across the market’’.

It added that large caps Jardine Matheson Holdings, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Sembcorp Industries, Singapore Telecommunications, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Hongkong Land and Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia also recorded net institutional inflow.

 

Jardine Matheson raised 2026 earnings guidance as high as US$5.65 per share

Jardine Matheson expects its 2026 earnings per share (EPS) to come in between US$5.50 and US$5.65, reflecting stronger than previously expected portfolio performance, it said last week.

The company, which previously expected EPS of about US$5.33, said the new range will be a 3 to 6% increase over its 2025 EPS when adjusted for disposals and reclassifications that year.

Jardine Matheson on Tuesday also said that it has acquired a 50% stake in Gammon Construction from Balfour Beatty, making it the sole owner, for £250 million (US$330 million). The cash will be paid in three tranches: at completion on Tuesday, on Dec 31 next year and on Dec 29, 2028.

The transaction is expected to be “modestly accretive” from its first year, said Jardine Matheson, adding that pricing is not subject to post-closing adjustments. The company will also acquire the Gammon Construction business inclusive of all future dividend entitlements and cash on balance sheet.

 

Key exports jump by higher-than-expected 68.4% in Sep, led by non-electronics

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) surged 68.4% year on year in September, more than double the 32.2% consensus forecast of private-sector economists in a Bloomberg poll.

Driven by non-electronics NODX, the latest showing also extended August’s revised 46.1% expansion. It was the strongest print since February 1980, said OCBC chief economist Selena Ling.

In the first nine months of 2026, NODX grew 27.6% year on year. Underpinned by this robust year-to-date growth, RHB upgraded its full-year NODX to 25%, from 15.5%.