Dip-buying drives Singapore stocks higher as retail investors pile in amid Iran conflict

SINGAPORE – The Singapore stock market ended the week higher, even as Middle East tensions persisted and mixed signals from US President Donald Trump continued to whipsaw global markets.

Several component stocks of the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose, including Singapore Airlines, which climbed nearly 2.5 per cent from about $6.50 at the start of the week to close at $6.66 on March 27. The airline had been among the hardest hit after the US-Israel war with Iran started on Feb 28.

Banking stocks advanced, with DBS Group, United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank each rising more than 2.5 per cent over the week.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) was among the gainers on the STI, climbing 4.5 per cent through the week to close on March 27 at $19.67.

Data released on March 25 showed that retail investors have been actively trading Singapore stocks during the month as volatility caused by the war offered opportunities to pick up quality names at a bargain.

Retail investors snapped up $638 million worth of shares as at March 24, with buying focused on financials, real estate investment trusts (Reits) and consumer cyclical stocks, the data showed.

This lifted cumulative retail net buying of local stocks to $675 million in the first quarter of 2026 as at March 24, following a strong 2025 when retail investors were net buyers at $2.6 billion.

SGX noted that the 15 SGX stocks most bought by retail investors averaged a 7.9 per cent price decline in March, compared with a 3.2 per cent price gain for the 15 stocks most sold.

This divergence shows that retail investors are taking a contrarian approach, buying stocks that have fallen rather than those that have risen, SGX said.

These 15 stocks are DBS, OCBC Bank, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Genting Singapore, iFAST, PropNex, ComfortDelGro, City Developments, CapitaLand Investment and CSE Global, as well as UI Boustead Reit, Mapletree Industrial Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, CapitaLand India Trust and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust.

AEM Holdings continues to rally

Investors who bought AEM Holdings earlier in the year are now sitting pretty, as shares of the semiconductor test solutions provider continued to rise.

They closed on March 27 at $4.55, up by around 11.5 per cent this week.

AEM has already risen by more than 52 per cent in March and more than doubled since the start of the year.

In filings lodged with the exchange this week, AEM disclosed that JP Morgan had taken a substantial stake in the company – around 5.18 per cent – for over $1.86 million. The US bank later adjusted its stake to around 4.9 per cent.

AEM in February reported better-than-expected results for 2025 and guided for higher revenue of between $460 million and $510 million in 2026 as a result of it securing a major artificial intelligence and high-performance computing customer.

AEM said the unnamed customer, its second after Intel, is ramping up orders, easing concerns over its reliance on a single client. While the customer was not disclosed, analysts have pointed to Advanced Micro Devices as a likely candidate.

Management also reinstated dividend payouts following the strong 2025 performance, proposing a 1.3-cent final dividend for the year. 

Singapore Reits in demand

Units of CapitaLand Ascendas Reit were well traded this week. They closed at $2.50 on March 27, down by around 1.5 per cent through the week.

The Reit said on March 24 that it will acquire $1.4 billion worth of assets, including 25 Loyang Crescent, a cluster of ramp-up logistics and industrial buildings, and a 50 per cent stake in Ascent, a premium business space property in Singapore.

It will also buy a 49 per cent interest in a Tier 3 hyperscale data centre in Greater Osaka, marking its entry into Japan.

The Reit has raised $903.5 million via an oversubscribed placement and preferential offering to part-finance those acquisitions.

Speaking to the media on March 25, the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA) said the region’s real estate and Reit markets are expected to remain resilient as safe-haven income assets despite global uncertainty.

The association added that the region’s Reit market has grown to more than 300 entities across 12 countries. Singapore Reits have outperformed, delivering more than 20 per cent returns in 2025, compared with 15 per cent by the rest of the global Reit market as a result of easing interest rates and strong demand.

Low interest rates support Singapore Reits by reducing borrowing costs, boosting asset values and making their yields more attractive relative to bonds.

APREA chairman John Lim said Singapore stands out as a stable and well-established real estate market across office, logistics, retail and hospitality assets, and that tight supply and robust demand are supporting high occupancy rates and rising rents.

Gold ambitions

Units of the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) began trading on the SGX on March 26 at an issue price of US$5 per unit.

The ETF is available in both Singapore-dollar and US-dollar denominations. In SGD terms, its units were trading at above $6 on March 27.

The new ETF tracks global gold prices and invests in physical gold bars that meet international quality standards and is backed by physical gold insured and vaulted in Singapore.

LionGlobal Investors said this is the first Singapore-developed physical gold ETF listed on the SGX, giving investors a simpler and lower-cost way to invest in gold.

The ETF’s debut came a day before Singapore on March 27 revealed plans to boost its position as a gold trading centre for the region, alongside Shanghai and Hong Kong, as investor interest in storing and trading the precious metal grows.

The plans include developing gold-related capital market products to support price discovery and liquidity, as well as establishing internationally aligned standards for vaulting and logistics.

They also involved building a clearing system to support over-the-counter trades of large gold bars and kilobars.

Gold prices have fallen since the start of the war in Iran, tumbling from around US$5,300 per ounce on Feb 28 to just under US$4,500 on March 29 as investors took profit and swopped their holdings for the US dollar.

The greenback has strengthened amid fears that elevated energy prices will keep interest rates higher for longer.

Other market movers

Keppel fell after news that a key deadline for the sale of its M1 unit to rival Simba had been extended.

In a post-market filing on March 26, Keppel said the parties have agreed to extend the deal’s long-stop date to May 21, or a later mutually agreed date, and are responding to additional queries from the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

Australia-listed Tuas, which owns Simba Telecom, had in August 2025 offered to acquire M1’s telco business for $1.43 billion in cash.

The update came after Keppel said in its 2025 annual report, also released on March 26, that it expects to continue selling its non-core assets through 2030 to support near-term dividends and longer-term growth. At the end of 2025, Keppel’s total asset monetisation moves since 2020 had reached about $14.5 billion, according to its annual report.

Shares of Keppel fell about 3 per cent to close at $11.90 on March 27, after rising to $12.55 a day earlier.

What to look out for next week

Key US economic data due next week could shape market expectations for interest rates, with reports on consumer spending and manufacturing set for release on April 1, followed by the monthly jobs report on April 3.

The labour market remains a key focus for the US Federal Reserve, which is mandated to support maximum employment and stable prices, with a 2 per cent inflation target. Any weakness in the jobs data could trigger fresh market volatility, after the Fed recently kept rates unchanged, citing inflation risks from higher energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict.