Global stock markets fell after the Iran conflict 2026 escalated, with the Straits Times Index dropping about 2.8% and most Singapore Exchange stocks declining. Rising uncertainty also pushed up the Cboe Volatility Index by about 28%.
However, 15 Singapore-listed stocks gained more than 5%, largely due to sector-specific benefits or defensive qualities:
1. Direct beneficiaries of higher energy prices
Coal and oil companies rose as Brent crude oil spiked above US$100 after disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz.
Examples: Geo Energy Resources, RH Petrogas.
Palm oil and agribusiness firms also gained due to supply concerns: Kencana Agri, Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Indofood Agri.
Defence-related demand boosted ST Engineering, while Pan-United Corporation benefited from defensive investor flows.
2. Fundamentally resilient companies
Consumer staples like DFI Retail Group rose due to steady demand for everyday goods.
Tech firms such as AEM Holdings and Aztech Global gained on strong AI-related demand, though analysts warn that sustained high energy prices could increase costs for AI data centers and slow infrastructure growth.
Overall: While the war triggered broad market declines, energy, agriculture, defence, consumer staples, and AI-related stocks in Singapore showed resilience or benefited directly from the geopolitical disruption.
ST Engineering has secured a contract from the Land Transport Authority to deploy an intelligent transport system in Singapore to improve traffic management. The contract value was not disclosed but is already included in ST Engineering’s FY2025 order book of $33.2 billion.
The project, under the company’s urban solutions business, will include:
A traffic monitoring camera system
An integrated traffic and plant management system
These upgrades aim to enable smarter traffic management, smoother traffic flow, and improved road safety across Singapore’s road network.
According to Hoe Yeen Teck, head of mobility road and services at ST Engineering, the contract reflects the company’s expertise in delivering large-scale intelligent transport projects and strengthens its long-standing partnership with the LTA.
Addvalue Technologies is exploring strategic options—such as alliances, mergers and acquisitions, or other capital market strategies—to unlock the value of its inter-satellite data relay system (IDRS) business, particularly by tapping opportunities in the US market.
The company says its IDRS segment, which supports communications for low Earth orbit satellites, is gaining strong momentum. In FY2026, it secured US$13.6 million in new orders, including a US$3.7 million contract announced on March 9.
As a result, Addvalue Technologies’ total order book has grown to US$26.4 million, reflecting rising demand for its satellite communication solutions.
Since Michael Smith became CEO of Hongkong Land in April 2024, the company’s share price has nearly tripled as investors responded positively to a new strategy focused on total shareholder return, asset recycling, and fund management growth.
Key goals by 2035 include:
Doubling profit before tax and dividends per share
Growing assets under management (AUM) to US$100 billion
Recycling US$10 billion of assets
Previously trading at a deep 80% discount to net asset value (NAV), Hongkong Land has reduced the gap to about 40% through asset sales, share buybacks, and strategic restructuring.
Major actions include:
Selling MCL Land to Sunway Group
Divesting Marina Bay Financial Tower 3 to Keppel REIT
Launching the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF) with anchor investor Qatar Investment Authority, initially holding about US$8.2 billion in assets.
The strategy shifts Hongkong Land toward an asset-light model, earning recurring fund management fees rather than relying solely on property ownership. Analysts such as UBS and Citi believe this transformation could further close the valuation gap and drive share price upside.
Meanwhile, core assets like The Landmark and the Westbund Central project in Shanghai remain key long-term growth drivers.
Geopolitical conflicts often disrupt shipping but can increase tanker profits by forcing oil cargoes to take longer routes and reducing the effective supply of vessels, which pushes freight rates higher. The current tensions around the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict 2026 have raised war-risk insurance and slowed shipping traffic, creating similar market conditions.
Ren Yuanlin, CEO of Yangzijiang Maritime Development, sees the situation as an opportunity. Rising tanker demand and freight rates could benefit the company, which is expanding its fleet and investing in medium-range oil tankers. The firm, spun off from Yangzijiang Financial Holding, aims to build a broader maritime investment platform covering vessel financing, leasing, and brokerage.
Despite strong fundamentals and a fleet of more than 80 vessels (completed or under construction), Ren believes the company’s share price is undervalued—similar to the early days of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding after its Singapore Exchange listing.
With about US$500 million in cash and no debt, the company plans to capitalize on shipping cycles, invest in cleaner vessels, and return capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Ren argues that geopolitical disruptions and shifting trade routes could ultimately create significant opportunities for the firm.
The Jardine Matheson conglomerate, long controlled by the Keswick family through a complex cross-holding structure, historically kept tight control over its businesses but was often criticized by investors for undervalued share prices and limited communication.
Since Ben Keswick began reforms in 2021, the group has shifted toward stronger shareholder returns and transparency, bringing in new external executives such as Lincoln Pan, Michael Smith, and Scott Price to modernize operations.
These changes have helped boost investor confidence, with major gains in shares of Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, and DFI Retail Group over the past year. Strategic moves—such as asset recycling, private real estate funds, and retail media monetization—aim to improve efficiency and returns.
Analysts from UBS expect further upside and have raised their target price for Jardine Matheson. The conglomerate’s stronger performance is also helping support Singapore’s Straits Times Index, as reforms align with broader efforts to make the local stock market more attractive to investors.
Stock futures rose slightly Thursday night as investors wait for U.S. inflation data (PCE index), the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge.
Markets fell sharply Thursday:
Dow −739 points (below 47,000 for first time in 2026)
S&P 500 −1.5%
Nasdaq −1.78%
The decline was driven mainly by surging oil prices linked to the Iran war and disruption risks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices jumped:
Brent crude: $100.46 (+9.2%), first time above $100 since Aug 2022
WTI: $95.73 (+9.7%)
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the strait should remain closed, and tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf have intensified supply fears.
The U.S. and International Energy Agency plan large emergency oil releases to ease supply disruptions.
Rising oil and inflation concerns are reducing expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
Several stocks moved after earnings/news:
Ulta Beauty −8% (weak earnings)
Adobe −7% (CEO stepping down)
Lennar −2% (earnings miss)
Rubrik +2% (strong results)
SentinelOne −3% (weak outlook)
Insulet −7% (device recall)
Major indexes are heading for weekly losses, with the Dow down ~1.7% so far.
Southern Alliance Mining reports higher revenue and lower net loss in 1HFY2026
The Trendlines Group announced that its portfolio company, IBI Ag, successfully completed its proof of concept (POC) for the AI-driven platform for De Novo design of novel bioinsecticide proteins.
Trendlines adds that the De Novo design opens up many new markets by targeting insect challenges that were previously unattainable with naturally occurring proteins, while also optimizing commercial aspects such as higher gross margins, longer shelf life, stability, and resiliency.
KSH Holdings wins new contract worth more than $32 mil; total order book around $1 bil
Seatrium continues assets divestment, fast-tracks P-78 into full-operational readiness
Q&M to buy Australian dental group for A$144.5 million
DFI Retail Group has become a leaner and more focused company under CEO Scott Price after a series of major divestments aimed at simplifying its portfolio and concentrating on businesses where it has stronger control and competitive advantages. The group sold several assets, including its Malaysia and Singapore supermarket chains to Macrovalue, its stake in Yonghui Superstores in China, and its shareholding in Robinsons Retail Holdings in the Philippines, raising about US$1 billion and allowing it to exit underperforming or minority investments. The strategy has helped the company shift from being a broad portfolio investor to a focused operating retailer centered on higher-margin segments such as health and beauty and convenience retail, including Guardian pharmacies and 7‑Eleven stores.
Alongside portfolio restructuring, Price has pushed operational changes such as decentralizing decision-making, strengthening local leadership, expanding digital and e-commerce initiatives, and investing in new retail concepts like ready-to-eat food offerings and AI-powered wellness tools. The transformation has improved financial performance, with the company returning to profitability in 2025 and its share price more than doubling over the past year, while also allowing it to return significant cash to shareholders through dividends. Going forward, DFI plans to focus on organic growth, digital retail, and selective acquisitions in Asia rather than further major divestments.
Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.5% to 5,027 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.1% to 8,699. Market turnover reached HK$242.18 billion. Major tech heavyweights declined, including Alibaba Group (-1.2%), Tencent (-1%), Meituan (-0.9%), and Xiaomi (-0.1%). Among notable movers, XPeng rose 4.4%, JD Logistics gained 4.2%, and China Hongqiao Group climbed 3.9%, while CNOOC and China Shenhua Energy both hit new highs. On the downside, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and Nongfu Spring each dropped about 4.5%, with weakness also seen in CMOC Group and Wharf Real Estate Investment Company. In the mid- and small-cap space, **China Risun Group surged to a new high and Xxf Group Holdings jumped nearly 40%, while several biotech stocks recorded sharp declines.Bursa Malaysia said recent cybersecurity incidents affecting several brokers were limited to the brokers’ internal systems and did not impact the exchange’s networks or market operations.
Eco World Development Group reported record 1QFY2026 results, with net profit rising to RM156.4 million and revenue doubling to RM1.35 billion after completing two industrial land sales, and declared a 2-sen dividend.
Bermaz Auto posted a 35% increase in 3QFY2026 net profit to RM32.6 million due to stronger sales of Mazda and XPeng vehicles.
GDB Holdings said the developer of the 8 Conlay project is appealing a court ruling ordering payment of RM102.8 million for construction work.
MN Holdings secured a RM216 million contract to build a data centre substation,
Cape EMS entered a three-year manufacturing partnership with Singapore-based Guardian South East Asia as part of an asset-light expansion strategy.
PeterLabs Holdings’ former executive director Loh Saw Foong disposed of shares and ceased to be a substantial shareholder
FBG Holdings won a RM15.5 million contract to build factory units in Shah Alam.
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