US stocks decline amid AI concerns and rising oil prices: Weekly Market Recap

What does it really mean to be ready for retirement?

That was on my mind after attending the CPF Ready for Life Festival this week.

Rather than starting with how much we have in CPF, the event encouraged us to first think about the life we want in retirement, then work out whether our CPF income is enough and what gaps we may need to fill.

We put this into practice with the CPF Retirement Payout Planner, comparing the retirement lifestyle we want with our projected CPF payouts. It reminded us that retirement planning does not have to mean putting life on hold, but can help us balance today’s priorities with our longer term plans.

Once we know the retirement income we are working towards, the next question is how the rest of our money can support that goal. This is where our Four Pots of Wealth can help, by giving our savings and investments clear roles. 

For the Liquidity Pot, yields have been moving higher again. The latest 6 month T bill yield rose to 1.95%, its highest level this year. For those looking further out, we also looked at the upcoming 5 year Singapore government bond auction, where the existing benchmark yield was around 2.14%.

For those who value flexibility, the latest Singapore Savings Bond offers a 10 year average return of 2.45%. We looked at whether it may be worth applying for this issuance or waiting for the next one. 

For the Income Pot, higher bond yields have weighed on REIT prices, but this has also pushed dividend yields higher. We looked at three Singapore blue chip REITs near their 52 week lows with forward dividend yields above 6%, and whether their distributions appear sustainable.

For the Opportunity Pot, we launched our Beansprout AI Tracker as AI stocks came under pressure. We look at five indicators to assess whether the fundamentals behind the AI investment cycle are holding up, and what would make us more cautious.

Against this backdrop, we hosted our webinar on Singapore’s advanced manufacturing sector this week, looking at how AI related semiconductor demand, precision engineering and the aerospace recovery could create opportunities for Singapore companies. If you missed it, you can watch the full advanced manufacturing webinar here.

For me, the Ready for Life Festival was a useful reminder to start with the life we want, understand where the gaps might be, and then think about how each part of our money can help us get there. 

Being ready for life is not just about reaching a retirement number, but having the confidence and flexibility to live the years ahead the way we want to.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

📊 US stocks decline amid AI concerns and rising oil prices

What happened? 

US markets had a volatile week as investors grappled with two key concerns, the scale of artificial intelligence (AI) spending and a sharp rise in oil prices.

Technology shares initially rebounded from the previous week’s sell off, supported by optimism around data centre demand and strong earnings expectations.

However, sentiment reversed as investors became more concerned about how much technology companies are spending on AI infrastructure, and how these investments will be funded.

What does this mean?

Investors turned more defensive as renewed concerns over AI spending and higher oil prices weighed on sentiment.

Brent crude rose 6.1% to US$116 per barrel amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, its highest level in six months.

At the same time, stronger demand for US Treasuries helped push the 10 year US Treasury yield lower to around 5.0%.

Why should I care?

US stocks ended lower as investors reassessed the outlook for AI investments and moved towards safer assets.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.5%. The sell off was much sharper among semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks, with the semiconductor index falling 11.4%.

Meta Platforms was among the biggest laggards, falling 9.4% after raising its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to US$135 billion to US$145 billion. This came despite strong third quarter revenue of US$64.6 billion, up 26% from a year ago and ahead of expectations. Meta also announced a 2 for 1 stock split.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 0.1% for the week, supported by an improvement in sentiment towards Singapore REITs as bond yields retreated.

Check out our Beansprout AI tracker where we use five indicators to assess whether the fundamentals behind the AI investment cycle are holding up, and what would make us more cautious.

🚗  Moving This Week

• Keppel DC REIT reported an 11.7% year-on-year increase in DPU to 8.571 cents for 9M2026, while distributable income rose 16.7% to S$228.0 million. Growth was supported by positive rental reversions, acquisitions and higher stakes in its Singapore data centres. Read more here 
• Frasers Centrepoint Trust reported a record FY2026 DPU of 12.35 cents. Full-year net property income rose 15.7% to S$321.7 million, while revenue increased 14.2% to S$444.9 million. Distributions to unitholders grew 9.2% to S$252.2 million, despite S$7.6 million being retained for asset enhancement works and other uses. Read more here 
• Suntec REIT reported a 13.4% year-on-year increase in distribution per unit to 2.017 cents for 3Q2026, while distributable income rose 14.3% to S$59.9 million. Growth was supported by stronger performance from its Singapore office and retail portfolios and lower financing costs. Gross revenue increased 5.2% to S$123.6 million. Read more here
• OUE REIT’s net property income rose 4.6% year-on-year to S$59.6 million in 3Q2026, while revenue increased 3.1% to S$72.6 million, driven by stronger hospitality contributions. Its office portfolio maintained 91.2% committed occupancy, with positive rental reversion of 4.6%, while Mandarin Gallery recorded 5.9% rental reversion. Read more here
• CapitaLand China Trust reported 9M2026 gross revenue of RMB1.22 billion and NPI of RMB820.6 million. On a same-store basis, revenue fell 1.5% and NPI declined 0.8%, although NPI rose 1.9% in SGD terms due to a stronger renminbi. Read more here
• OCBC will allow customers to hold Malaysian ringgit in Singapore-based multi-currency savings accounts from 23 October, becoming the first non-Malaysian bank to offer the service. Customers can hold up to RM50,000 and earn 1% annual interest until June 2027, before rates fall to 0.5%. The service also enables fee-free debit card spending and ATM withdrawals in Malaysia. Read more here

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

3 Singapore blue-chip REITs near 52-week lows with dividend yields above 6%

We look at three Singapore blue-chip REITs offering forward dividend yields above 6%, comparing their DPU trends, gearing and income sustainability.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

Key dates

• Monday, 26 Oct: iFast earnings
• Tuesday, 27 Oct: Aims Apac REIT ex dividend. CapitaLand Ascott Trust, Digital Core REIT, Keppel DC REIT, Keppel Infrastructure Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, First REIT, Aztech  earnings. 
• Wednesday, 28 Oct:  Wilmar, CapitaLand India Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, KORE US REIT, Prime US REIT earnings. 5-year Singapore government bond auction. FOMC meeting. Alphabet, Microsoft earnings.
• Thursday, 29 Oct: Frasers Centrepoint Trust ex dividend. CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Keppel REIT, Far East Hospitality Trust, CDL Hospitality Trust, Starhill Global REIT, UltraGreen.ai earnings. Amazon, Intel earnings.
• Friday, 30 Oct: SGX ex-dividend. Lendlease Global Commercial REIT, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust earnings. 

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

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