SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Lower; STI Dips 0.56% As Major Banks And Tech Stocks Retreat
Market Snapshot
Singapore equities opened in negative territory on Friday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slipping 0.56%.
Across the broader market, major blue-chip stocks faced selling pressure. The local banking trio saw mixed to lower trades, with OCBC Bank shedding 0.8%, while DBS and UOL each declined by 0.6%. Telecommunications giant Singtel also dipped 0.6%. In the semiconductor and tech space, AEM Holdings (AEM SGD) dropped over 2%, and UMS Holdings (UMS) fell 1.5%.
Bucking the broader downtrend, Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH USD) managed to gain ground, rising more than 1% in early trading.
Stocks in Focus
The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Jul 24):
Singapore Exchange (SGX) : The bourse operator said on Thursday that it will launch up to 100 new MSCI-linked derivatives under an expanded licensing agreement with the index provider, in a move to strengthen its position as a global derivatives marketplace. The first phase of the rollout will comprise about 40 futures and options contracts covering major developed and emerging markets. Shares of SGX ended at S$23.70 on Thursday, 0.7 per cent or S$0.16 higher, before the news.
SIA Engineering : The aircraft maintenance provider on Thursday posted a net profit of S$40.3 million for the first quarter ended Jun 30, down 6.1 per cent from the year before. Revenue for Q1 stood at S$327.6 million, down 8.6 per cent on the year due to lower revenue from materials, with a commensurate reduction in the cost of materials. But excluding materials, revenue was up 4.2 per cent year on year. Shares of SIA Engineering ended 0.6 per cent or S$0.02 down at S$3.27, prior to the update.
Mapletree Industrial Trust : The trust’s manager on Thursday said its distribution per unit (DPU) fell 4.9 per cent to S$0.0311 for its first quarter ended Jun 30, from S$0.0327 the year prior. Revenue declined 7.7 per cent to S$162.3 million for the period, from S$175.9 million in the same year-ago period. Net property income shed 8.5 per cent on the year to S$122.3 million, from S$133.6 million. Units of Mapletree Industrial Trust ended flat at S$1.93 on Thursday, before the results were released.
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) : The manager of the trust reported on Thursday a DPU of S$0.03936 for its first half ended June, up 24.8 per cent from S$0.03155 in the same period the year prior. A distribution of S$0.01936 per unit was paid on May 29. The remaining H1 distribution of S$0.02 per unit will be paid on Aug 28. Distributable income rose 25.5 per cent year on year to S$116.5 million for H1, from S$92.8 million. The counter ended Thursday 2 per cent or S$0.03 down at S$1.51, before the release of results.
ESR Reit : The manager of the Reit on Thursday proposed to buy a freehold logistics property in Melbourne, Australia, for A$52.5 million (US$36.7 million). This is a new addition to its recently proposed acquisition of five freehold logistics properties in the area. The portfolio of six properties is expected to be about 5.1 per cent DPU-accretive on a pro forma basis. Units of ESR Reit closed 2.9 per cent or S$0.07 higher at S$2.48 on Thursday, before the news.
SG Local News
Singapore retail rents rise 0.6% in Q2 as vacancy rate creeps up: URA
Rents of retail space in Singapore’s central region rose 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, swinging up from the 0.6 per cent decrease in the previous quarter.
Islandwide, retail vacancy was 6.5 per cent in Q2, from 6.3 per cent in the preceding quarter, figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jul 24) showed.
In Q2, the amount of occupied retail space decreased by 37,000 square metres (sq m), compared with the increase of 6,000 sq m in the previous quarter.
SingPost chairperson says talks with government ongoing in response to query about state aid
Singapore Post chairperson Teo Swee Lian said that the national postal service provider has been “talking to the government”, when asked about state aid for its loss-making postal business.
She was responding to a shareholder’s question at the group’s 34th annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday (Jul 23) at Suntec Singapore.
Teo said that she was not at liberty to disclose the confidential discussions “until and unless the government has decided that it wants to reveal it”.
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