T-bill yield dives as US stocks soar: Weekly Market Recap

This week, I had the opportunity to speak at a seminar at NTU on how news events influence the markets.

During the session, a student asked me, “What can I do to get a headstart in achieving my financial goals?” 

For those of you who’ve spoken with me before, my answer remains the same: invest in yourself and build secondary income streams.

If you’re unsure where to start, it’s worth looking at something safe. With the 1-year T-bill yield falling sharply to 2.71% this week, we’ll explore what this could mean for the upcoming 6-month T-bill auction on 24 October.

Earlier, I mentioned that bond funds are worth considering if rates fall further. This week, we’ll take a closer look at the Fullerton Short Term Interest Rate Fund.

For Singapore REIT investors, we’re diving into AIMS APAC REIT, which owns 28 industrial properties across Singapore and Australia, and how its asset repositioning strategy could provide an edge.

I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on how you’re investing in yourself—it’s one of the most important things we can do.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

🚀 Record highs 

What happened? 

US retail sales rose by 0.4% in September, surpassing market expectations and accelerating from the 0.1% growth in August.

Artificial intelligence-themed stocks got another lift as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, a key supplier to Nvidia, reported strong quarterly earnings.

What does this mean?

Investors responded positively to these economic and corporate results, viewing them as signs of strong consumer spending and sustained demand for AI chips. 

This optimism outweighed concerns about potential export restrictions on advanced AI chips by Nvidia and other American companies.    

Why should I care? 

The S&P 500 hit another record high, fueled by growing optimism about the strength of the US economy.

Nvidia led tech gains, reaching a new high amid improved sentiment toward AI-related stocks.

Chinese stocks ended the week on a positive note as investors assessed additional stimulus aimed at providing credit support and revitalising the property market. Learn more about Yanlord, a property developer that is exposed to China's potential recovery.

Singapore stocks also rebounded, with the economy expanding by 4.1% in the third quarter, driven by growth in the manufacturing sector.

🚗  Moving This Week

• Keppel DC REIT 3Q24 net property income fell 0.2% year on year to S$64.5m. Higher finance income from the Australian notes lifted DPU by 0.4% to 2.501 cents. This translates to an annualised dividend yield of 4.5%. 
• ParkwayLife REIT 3Q24 net property income fell 1.9% year-on-year due to depreciation of Yen. However, DPU rose 1.4% to 3.76 cents, translating to annualised yield of 3.74%.
• CDL Hospitality Trusts is acquiring an upscale lifestyle boutique hotel in Exeter, England, as well as two retail units in the hotel for about £19.4 million (S$33.2 million).
• ESR-Logos REIT has entered into a 4-year S$225mn unsecured sustainability-linked term loan facility and JPY15.5bn unsecured term loan facility to part fund acquisitions, pare down loans and for working capital.
• Sembcorp Industries won a build-own-operate award for a 150MW wind-solar hybrid power project in India. The plant will begin commercial operation within 24 months, and will sell the  output to Solar Energy Corporation of India under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The big important story

1 Year T-bill yield plunges to 2.71%. Why the sharp fall?

The cut-off yield on the latest 1-year Singapore T-bill auction on 17 October fell to 2.71%.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

• Tuesday, 22 Oct: Mapletree Logistics Trust and Keppel REIT earnings
• Wednesday, 23 Oct: Singapore CPI data, Digital Core REIT and Tesla earnings
• Thursday, 24 Oct: Singapore 6-month T-bill auction, US initial jobless claims 
• Friday, 25 Oct: CapitaLand Ascendas REIT earnings 

Check out the full list of Singapore stocks, REITs and ETFs with upcoming dividend payments with our dividend calendar.

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

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