Singapore stocks at record highs while AI stocks retreat: Weekly Market Recap

Our idea of the iron rice bowl shifted a little this week.

GovTech announced that 93 employees would leave in the first phase of a two year restructuring, with the changes expected to affect between 7 and 9 per cent of its workforce.

Retrenchments are still relatively rare in the public service, especially on this scale. But as technology reshapes the economy more quickly, no organisation can assume that every role will remain unchanged.

I graduated around the time of the global financial crisis and spent much of my career in finance. Over the years, I have seen institutions change and friends lose jobs they once thought were secure. 

That has also shaped how I think about financial security today.

For a long time, many of us have associated financial security with finding a stable job and earning a steady monthly salary.

But I increasingly believe that financial resilience also comes from reducing how much of our financial lives depends on a single pay cheque. We also need to build other layers of protection over time.

The first layer is liquidity. Having enough cash and short term investments gives us time and breathing room when life does not go according to plan.

With the 6-month T bill yield rebounding recently, we look at what investors can expect from the upcoming one year T bill auction.

The next layer is income. Over time, dividend income from our investments can become a useful secondary source of cash flow. This week, we share some of the ways investors can build passive income in Singapore, including blue chip stocks, REITs and bond funds.

For many investors, the natural starting point is with companies they already know. We compare DBS, ST Engineering and SATS to see how they stack up from a dividend perspective.

We also look at the growth side of the portfolio. For investors who want to take a more active role and act on their highest conviction ideas, we share a practical framework for picking growth stocks and deciding how they fit within a portfolio.

This is similar to how we think about investing through Beansprout’s Four Pots of Wealth. Each part of the portfolio should have a clear role, whether it is providing liquidity, generating income, compounding over time or giving us room to act on opportunities.

One of my takeaways from the recent Amundi World Investment Forum was that retirement itself is changing. Careers are becoming less predictable and people are living longer. This makes it even more important to understand what role each investment plays in preparing us for the life ahead.

Perhaps the new iron rice bowl is not a job that can never be lost.

It is having enough liquidity to absorb a setback, more than one source of income and a portfolio that gives us more choices when life changes.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

📊 Singapore stocks climb to new highs

What happened? 

The earnings season has started on a solid footing despite continued market volatility.

Several major US banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, reported results that largely exceeded market expectations. Of the 47 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 76% beat revenue estimates, while 95% surpassed earnings estimates.

The semiconductor results were also encouraging. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) delivered better than expected results and raised its caoex guidance. However, the positive results were not enough to prevent a selloff in semiconductor, memory chip and AI infrastructure stocks.

What does this mean?

Memory chipmakers came under particular pressure after industry forecasts pointed to weaker than expected average selling prices and shipments. South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix saw its largest single day decline on record of 15.4%.

After leading the market higher for much of the past year, AI related stocks are now facing greater scrutiny over whether earnings growth can justify their valuations.

Upcoming results from major technology companies will therefore be closely watched. In particular, investors will be looking at whether hyperscalers maintain their capital expenditure plans and whether demand for AI infrastructure remains on track.

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also resurfaced, pushing oil prices higher and weighing on investor sentiment.

While the latest inflation data was cooler than expected, sustained strength in energy prices could slow the recent improvement in inflation. This could keep interest rates elevated for longer and reduce the likelihood of further rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Why should I care?

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% over the week, while the technology focused Nasdaq Composite  declined 2.9%. Concerns over AI spending and semiconductor demand weighed on technology shares.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 0.7% to reach a new record high, supported by further strength in the local banks.

DBS crossed the S$70 mark and became the first Singapore listed company to exceed S$200 billion in market capitalisation.

🚗  Moving This Week

• DBS is targeting more than S$1 trillion in assets under management across its retail and wealth businesses by 2030, supported by AI, partnerships and regional expansion. The bank plans to hire 600 more front-line advisers and platform engineers by end-2028, while wealth AUM had already reached S$492 billion in 1Q2026, close to its earlier S$500 billion target. Read our analysis here.
• Singapore Exchange reported its highest average daily securities trading value in 18 years for FY2026, with securities daily average value rising 35% year on year to S$1.8 billion. The strong performance was supported by record highs in the Straits Times Index, while derivatives trading volume also increased 15% year on year to 363.5 million contracts. Read more here.
• The SIA Group carried a record 3.7 million passengers in June, up 6.3% year on year, with passenger traffic supported by robust travel demand. Cargo volumes also rose 8.5%, driven by AI and data centre-related shipments, as well as front-loading of e-commerce exports to Europe ahead of new EU import duties. Read more here.
• Keppel has fully commercialised its Bifrost Cable System after securing a customer for its fifth and final fibre pair. The project is expected to generate about US$1.3 billion in contract value over 25 years, with Keppel targeting an internal rate of return of around 30% from the subsea cable system. Read more here
• CapitaLand Investment has disbanded its special opportunities team, with the remaining members either leaving the firm or being reassigned internally. While the dedicated unit has been dissolved, the company will continue to evaluate special situations investment opportunities on a case-by-case basis. Read more here
• CapitaLand Ascendas REIT is divesting Kim Chuan Telecommunications Complex for S$200.4 million, representing a 32% premium to its latest valuation and double its original purchase price in 2005. The divestment is expected to unlock value for unitholders, with the manager entitled to a 0.5% divestment fee under the REIT's trust deed. Read more here
• A consortium comprising Frasers Property, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Sunway MCL, Sekisui House and Lum Chang submitted the top bid of S$2.13 billion for the Bayshore Drive mixed-use GLS site, equivalent to S$1,323 psf per plot ratio. The bid was 5.8% above the second-highest offer from a Hong Leong-led consortium, highlighting strong developer interest in the site.
• ComfortDelGro has appointed Yap Chee Khean as its first group chief operating officer. The newly created role is part of the group’s strategy to strengthen global operations and support growth across markets. Yap, who will start on 15 October, brings more than 20 years of leadership experience from companies including Carlsberg Group and Jardine Matheson. Read more here
• PC Partner Group expects to report first-half earnings of at least HK$500 million, more than double the HK$250.4 million recorded a year earlier. The company attributed the stronger performance to higher selling prices for its branded products, which supported improved profit margins. Read more here 

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

Here's what to expect for the 1-year T-bill auction on 23 July

The closing yield on the 1-year Singapore T-bill of 1.45% is lower than the 6-month T-bill yield. Investors of the 1-year T-bill may face lower re-investment risks.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

Key dates

• Monday, 20 Jul: CSOP iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index ETF ex-dividend
• Wednesday, 22 Jul: SATS Ltd ex-dividend, Alphabet, Tesla earnings
• Thursday, 23 Jul: Keppel DC REIT, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Suntec REIT earnings, Singapore 1-year T-bill auction, Intel earnings
• Friday, 24 Jul: iFast Corp earnings

Get the full list of stocks with upcoming earnings and upcoming dividends. 

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