SGX Weekly Review | STI Edges Up 0.19%; H22 Surges 10%, AVP Gains 7%, E28 Drops Nearly 9%

Singapore’s benchmark indices were mixed this week, with the Straits Times Index (STI) edging up 0.19% for the week.

All three local banking heavyweights closed higher: $DBS(D05.SI)$ added 0.2% week on week, $OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$ rose 0.29% and hit a fresh intraday record on Aug 26, while $UOB(U11.SI)$ gained 0.62% across the week. Elsewhere, $Seatrium Ltd(5E2.SI)$ advanced 2.33% and $Wilmar Intl(F34.SI)$ climbed 2.7%.

On the downside, $UOL(U14.SI)$ dropped 3.87%, $DFIRG USD(D01.SI)$ fell 3.55%, and $SATS(S58.SI)$ lost nearly 1.5%.

Market News

Singapore factory output growth eases to 6.8% in July; electronics up 11.2%

Factory output rose 6.8 per cent year on year in July, moderating from June’s revised 7.5 per cent growth, data from the Economic Development Board showed on Wednesday (Aug 26).

This was in line with expectations by private-sector economists who had similarly forecast a 6.8 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg poll.

Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output increased 8 per cent year on year, slowing from June’s revised 9.9 per cent expansion.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, output increased 2.3 per cent in July, compared with June’s revised figure of a 7 per cent contraction.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output also increased 0.8 per cent, reversing from the revised 10.9 per cent contraction in the previous month.

Within the manufacturing sector, all clusters recorded output growth on a year-on-year basis in July, except the biomedical manufacturing and chemicals clusters.

Core inflation climbs to 2% in July; electricity prices rise sharply

Core and headline inflation picked up in July, with the core figure rising largely due to electricity and gas, services and food segments, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday (Aug 24).

Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, rose to 2 per cent in July from June’s 1.6 per cent. Still, it was below the median 2.2 per cent predicted in Bloomberg’s poll of private sector economists.

Barclays’ estimates suggest that the 17 per cent adjustment in electricity tariffs accounted for 0.3 percentage point of the increase, said Brian Tan, its head of non-China EM Asia economics research.

Forbes Asia names 15 Singapore firms on list of 100 small companies to watch in 2026

Forbes Asia released its sixth annual edition of the 100 to Watch list on Tuesday (Aug 25) – a compilation of small businesses and startups on the rise in the Asia-Pacific region – which featured 15 Singapore companies. 

It was the second-largest representation from a single country, after India with 19 companies.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore commit to keeping the straits of Malacca and Singapore free

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore reaffirmed their shared commitment to keep the straits of Malacca and Singapore free, open and safe for international shipping.

The three littoral states reiterated their pledge at the 17th Co-operation Forum on Tuesday (Aug 25) and issued a joint media statement.

Singapore’s Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said in his opening remarks at the event: “In our part of the world, we will endeavour to keep the straits of Malacca and Singapore free, open and safe for international shipping.”

Data centres expected to add pressure on Singapore’s energy supply: survey

Singapore’s data centre growth is expected to add pressure on the Republic’s energy supply, while boosting appetite for energy storage solutions and grid upgrades, a new industry survey showed.

Of 100 energy sector professionals polled across South-east Asia, nearly 45 per cent cited “increased pressure on energy supply and infrastructure” as the biggest impact of data centre growth on Singapore’s energy sector by 2030.

Another 31 per cent expect the biggest impact to be increased demand for energy storage and grid upgrades.