𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞t 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 *18/8/26*
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STI: 5768 (+25) | HSI: 25453 (+336) | Dow: 53459 (-272) | S&P: 7745 (-40) | Nasdaq: 26644 (-84)
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*US Markets Overnight*
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*Oil Up, Yields Up, Stocks Down*
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Wall Street started the week on the back foot. And this time, the pressure wasn’t coming from just one direction.
US stocks fell across the board as oil prices climbed and Treasury yields pushed higher, not exactly the combination growth stocks want to see. The Dow and S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.
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Bonds were the more interesting move. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 4.73%, while the 30-year hit 5.31%, its highest since 2007. Higher oil can complicate the inflation picture, while higher long-term yields tighten financial conditions. Put the two together and the Fed’s job doesn’t get any easier.
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*Oil* jumped as hopes faded for a quick US-Iran agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. WTI rose 2.4% to US$84.35, while Brent climbed 2.4% to US$90.65. Geopolitics is once again finding its way into the inflation conversation.
Big Tech had a rougher night, with all Magnificent Seven stocks closing lower. Meta fell around 3.5% and Microsoft dropped 3%.
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But *memory stocks* clearly didn’t get the memo. 😂 The Roundhill Memory ETF jumped more than 5%, with Sandisk, Western Digital, SK Hynix, Micron and Seagate gaining roughly 2% to 9%. SpaceX also rebounded 4.5%. .
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The other thing I’m watching this week is the US consumer. After last week’s surprisingly weak 0.6% decline in July retail sales, results from Walmart, Target and Home Depot should give us another reality check. One weak data point can be noise. Weakness showing up across retailers would be harder to dismiss.
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For now, Wall Street is juggling oil, yields and a potentially softer consumer. None is alarming on its own, but when all three start talking at the same time, investors tend to listen.
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*What’s Brewing Today*
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Biggest news to watch out today - $Sembcorp Ind(U96.SI)*. I know, probably a disappointing stock to many after Citi downgraded the stock a month ago. Since then, the share price fell from around $6.50+ to as low as $5.22, before staging a pretty strong comeback to close at $5.97 yesterday, just 3 cents shy of the $6.00 mark.
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And now comes the funny part. 😂
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Now, Citi, together with DBS and OCBC, are saying Sembcorp’s removal from the MSCI Singapore Index could present a *buying opportunity*.
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One month ago: downgrade.
After the stock gets whacked: buying opportunity.
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How funny how things change when the price changes. 😅
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But there’s another interesting development to watch.
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Sembcorp Industries has also confirmed that it is evaluating a potential IPO of Sembcorp Green Infra, its India renewables business. Discussions are still preliminary and the company stressed that no definitive decision has been made. So while the MSCI removal could create some near-term selling pressure, the potential listing of its renewables business adds another angle to the Sembcorp story.
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Could be an interesting few days ahead for the stock.
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*Happening Today*
SG XD:
— Aspial Lifestyle: SGD 0.009
— UOI: SGD 0.0907
— VICOM Ltd: SGD 0.0395
EU
— ZEW Economic Sentiment (Aug) / ECB's Lane Speaks
US
— Export Price Index (MoM) (Jul) / Housing Starts (Jul) / Building Permits (Jul) / Industrial Production (YoY) (Jul) / Pending Home Sales (MoM) (Jul) / API Weekly Crude Oil Stock
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*SG Stock news*
—⭐ *Sembcorp Industries* confirmed it is evaluating a potential IPO of Sembcorp Green Infra, but said discussions remain preliminary and no definitive decision has been made.
—🤨 *SIA* carried 3.7 million passengers in July, up 4.0% YoY, but Group passenger load factor fell 2.5ppt to 86.0% as capacity grew faster than traffic.
https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/WRUMKPSXM2E2SU9P/901419_opstats-jul26.pdf
—💡 *OUE* & *OUE Healthcare* partnered NTU Singapore on technology-enabled and integrative healthcare, including a S$3 million OUE endowment and research into evidence-based TCM.
—👍 *Hyphens Pharma* highlighted 1H2026 PAT surging 132.5% to S$4.6 million despite flat revenue, with gross margin expanding 2.9ppt to 42.3% and operating cash flow rising 27.2% to S$9.2 million.
—👍 *China Medical System* reported 1H2026 turnover rising 12.5% to RMB4.50 billion and net profit increasing 4.3% to RMB971.5 million, while raising its interim dividend 5.1% to RMB0.1634 per share.
— *Hiap Hoe's* controlling shareholder acquires 6 mil shares through market transaction
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*Earnings Calendar:*
19 /8 - SATS
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Rgds, Dan
https://www.phillip.com.sg/talktophillip/danccs/
https://tinyurl.com/dan-disclaimer
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