Singapore market resilience
Singapore’s stock market has been notably less affected by the Middle East crisis than other markets, supported by domestic growth and valuation dynamics. (livemint.com) Analysts describe the repricing as selective—energy‑exposed economies face bigger shocks—so Singapore’s steadiness reflects balance‑sheet and valuation reasons that could change if the Gulf confrontation intensifies. ( )
Singapore stocks have held up better than most Asian markets since the Middle East war began, with the Straits Times Index trading near record highs in mid-April. (bloomberg.com) The Straits Times Index rose 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 to 4,885.45, and dividends lifted total return to 5.6 per cent, according to Singapore Exchange data. By April 14, the index was back above 5,000 intraday. (sgx.com; sg.finance.yahoo.com) Singapore’s economy entered the shock with stronger growth than many peers. The Ministry of Trade and Industry said on February 9 that gross domestic product grew 6.9 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and raised its 2026 forecast to 2.0 to 4.0 per cent. (singstat.gov.sg) The market’s makeup also helped. Singapore’s benchmark is dominated by banks, telecoms, industrials and other large dividend payers, and Bloomberg reported that DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation together make up more than 40 per cent of the gauge. (bloomberg.com) A stronger currency added another buffer. The Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened policy on April 14 by steepening the slope of its exchange-rate band, after saying the Singapore dollar had already strengthened in the upper half of that band. (publicnow.com; straitstimes.com) That move came as the central bank warned that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had been severely constrained and that higher oil and food import costs could lift inflation. The same statement said core inflation was 1.2 per cent year on year in January and February 2026, before the latest energy shock fed through. (publicnow.com; mondovisione.com) Singapore also spent the past year trying to make its equity market more attractive. In November 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a Singapore Exchange-Nasdaq dual-listing bridge, a S$30 million “Value Unlock” package and a second batch of managers for its S$5 billion Equity Market Development Programme. (sid.org.sg) Those reforms do not remove the oil risk. Singapore is a net energy importer, and the central bank said in April that it would update its growth forecast in May as the full hit from the Gulf disruption becomes clearer. (publicnow.com) For now, investors are treating Singapore less like a direct Middle East casualty and more like a market with cash-generating banks, a firm currency and policy support. That trade has held through April, but it still rests on whether the energy shock stays contained. (bloomberg.com; publicnow.com)
