Stocks swing on slower growth signals: Weekly Market Recap

When I saw that the 1-year T-bill yield fell to just 2.29% this week, my first thought was that’s no longer enough. 

Yes, it’s still a safe option. But with inflation, opportunity cost, and more choices out there, I’ve been thinking harder about where to park my cash for better returns.

That’s why I’ve been on the lookout for ways to earn above the t-bill yield, without taking on too much risk. In this week’s update, I share a few options that I’ve been considering to make my savings work a little harder.

At the same time, I’m keeping an eye on defensive dividend names, such as Parkway Life REIT.  With a track record of growing distributions since 2007, it’s one of the more resilient REITs out there.

As we shared in our webinar on Singapore REITs this week, the environment today is quite different as the market adjusts to the trade tariffs.  As such, choosing a REIT with sustainable distributions becomes even more important. 

If you missed our webinar, you can catch the full webinar replay and key takeaways here.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

🔻 Slowing growth

What happened? 

Singapore’s economy grew by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2025, slower than the 4.5% growth economists were expecting.

With rising global uncertainty and the impact of US tariffs weighing on trade, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has revised Singapore’s full-year growth forecast down to 0–2%, from an earlier 1–3% range.

What does this mean?

Slower growth in Singapore echoes growing concerns in the U.S., where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that recent tariff hikes were “significantly larger than anticipated.” He added that the economic impact of higher inflation and weaker growth could also be more severe than initially expected.

Powell also signalled a more cautious Fed stance, saying policymakers are “well positioned to wait for greater clarity,” a comment many interpreted as putting interest rate cuts on hold for now.

Meanwhile, the U.S. took another step in the escalating trade war, announcing new restrictions on chip exports to China. The uncertainty around global trade shows no signs of easing.

Why should I care? 

The S&P 500 slipped, led by declines in large-cap tech names and companies heavily exposed to artificial intelligence.

In contrast, Singapore stocks staged a recovery from last week’s sharp sell-off. Gains were led by logistics REITs such as Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust and Mapletree Logistics Trust.

Defensive names also saw strength, with Singtel and ST Engineering hitting new highs as investors sought stability amid ongoing market uncertainty.

🚗  Moving This Week

• Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot reported a 0.8 per cent year-on-year drop in combined passenger traffic in March, partly due to the shift in the Easter holiday from March in 2024 to April in 2025. Read more here.
• CapitaLand Investment intends to launch its first real estate investment trust (Reit) in China, to be named CapitaLand Commercial C-Reit (CLCR). CLI applied to register the Reit with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and applied to list the Reit on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The listing would mark the first internationally sponsored retail China Reit and the first such China Reit by a Singapore-based company once approved. Read more here.
• Keppel DC REIT has reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.503 cents for the 1QFY2025 ended March 31, 14.2% higher y-o-y, due to contributions from acquisitions and a strong portfolio performance. Read more here.
• SingPost is increasing its stake in e-commerce provider Quantium Solutions International (QSI) and disposing of its stake in Shenzhen 4PAX Information and Technology (4PX). SingPost anticipates receiving a cash inflow of about $55.86 million from the transaction.
• Sabana Industrial REIT posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.0086 for the quarter ended Mar 31, up 26.5 per cent from S$0.0068 in the same period a year ago. Net Property Income (NPII) for the period grew 22 per cent on the year to S$16 million, on higher gross revenue and lower property expenses.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

Where to park your cash for higher yield? T-bills vs Fixed Deposit vs SSB (Apr 2025)

We share the best ways to earn a yield on your cash through fixed deposits, Singapore T-bills, SSBs and money market funds.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

• Tuesday, 22 April: Keppel Infrastructure Trust, ParkwayLife REIT earnings, Tesla earnings, UOBAM FTSE China A50 Index ETF Event: Capture China’s Growth Potential
• Wednesday, 23 April: Mapletree Logistics Trust, Digital Core REIT earnings
• Thursday, 24 April: Keppel, Suntec REIT, OUE REIT earnings, Alphabet earnings, Singapore 6-month T-bill auction
• Friday, 25 April: CICT, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust earnings, SSB application closing date

Get the full list of stocks with upcoming dividends here. 

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

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