Stock Market Today

Local shares ended Thursday (Oct 23) higher, even as markets across the region ended mixed. The local benchmark index rose 0.5% or 22.35 points to close at 4,416.27. Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 370 to 196, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.

The S&P 500 rose on Thursday, boosted by tech stocks, as investors stepped in to buy after a batch of strong earnings results. The broad market index climbed 0.58% to close at 6,738.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 144.20 points, or 0.31%, to finish at 46,734.61. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.89% to settle at 22,941.80, seeing support from the gains in names like Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon.

* ^ denotes companies placed on SGX Watch-list

SG

ST Engineering on Thursday announced that it secured S$4.9 billion in new contracts in the third quarter of 2025.

The manager of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Thursday posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.01778 for its third quarter ended Sep 30, up from S$0.0158 for the previous corresponding period.

Singtel on Thursday announced the launch of the first hybrid quantum-safe network (QSN) in South-east Asia, partnering cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks.

Wee Hur’s property arm and its controlling shareholder GSC Holdings outbid four others with a S$613.9 million offer for a suburban residential site in Upper Thomson, with developers spurred by strong sales for a neighbouring project launched in August.

Integrated resort and casino operator Marina Bay Sands (MBS) notched yet another record set of results, with profits just a whisker shy of S$1 billion in the third quarter.

Genting Group’s plan to sell the hotel at its Resorts World Catskills casino to a government development corporation in New York’s Sullivan County has been put on hold until early January, again delaying a US$561 million municipal bond sale.

Grab Holdings Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing and delivery company, is backing driverless technology developer May Mobility Inc with the goal of bringing robotaxis to the region as soon as 2026.

Singapore’s key inflation gauge rose at a slightly faster pace in September after two months of deceleration, led by public transport and healthcare costs.

Singapore’s industrial spaces rental index for Q3 grew 2.3% from a year earlier, representing a slight uptick from the 2% year-on-year growth seen in Q2.

US

Uber stock climbed to a session high Thursday afternoon, after Nvidia revealed details about their collaboration on autonomous vehicle development.

Applied Materials, the largest US producer of chipmaking equipment, plans to cut 4% of its global workforce as it copes with a sales slowdown and trade turmoil.

Anthropic is expanding its deal with Google to use as many as one million of the tech giant’s artificial intelligence chips, worth tens of billions of dollars, as the startup races to advance its AI systems in the competitive market.

Tesla said on Thursday it is recalling 63,619 Cybertrucks over software that makes the front parking lights too bright, potentially impairing oncoming drivers’ vision.

Hasbro raised its annual revenue and core profit forecasts on Thursday banking on strong demand for its digital games, including “Magic: The Gathering”, at a time when tariff uncertainty looms over the all-important holiday season.

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum unit Chief Financial Officer Roger Connor has stepped down after less than six months in the role, according to a Bloomberg News report on Thursday.

U.S. critical minerals developer Niocorp Developments Ltd announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin to develop scandium-based defense technology.

Nokia reported third-quarter profit which was ahead of market expectations on Thursday, driven by strong optical and cloud demand, including AI-focused data centre sales following its Infinera acquisition.

Target is cutting around 1,800 corporate roles in its first major layoff in around a decade as the retailer looks to reverse years of stagnant sales and simplify its operations.

Donald Trump said he plans to speak to President Xi Jinping about China’s purchases of Russian oil when the two leaders meet next week in South Korea, after the US president on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions on top energy companies with ties to the Kremlin.

China said Vice Premier He Lifeng plans to meet with US officials in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 24 to 27 for the next round of trade talks, aimed at defusing a standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

Source: SGX Masnet, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, CNBC, WSJ, The Business Times, The Edge Singapore, PSR

Phillip SING Income ETF- Good balance between growth and dividend

Recommendation: ACCUMULATE; TP S$1.590; Last close: S$1.4280; Analyst Helena Wang

• We value Phillip SING Income ETF (SINGINC) using a combination of historical dividend yield spread and price-to-earnings ratios. Using these two valuation methods, the target prices are S$1.48 and S$1.70, respectively. Applying equal weightage to both valuations, we initiate coverage with an ACCMULATE recommendation and target price of S$1.59.
• SINGINC gives exposure to 31 high-dividend yield equities within Singapore, spanning across sectors like financials, telecoms, industrials, and REITs. Constituents are selected based on dividend yield and financial health to provide a stable, semi annual income.
• As one of the few ETFs entirely focused on the Singapore equity market, it allows investors to capture Singapore’s resilient, dividend-driven stocks, making it ideal for those seeking steady returns and sustainable income growth.

Singapore REITs Monthly – More to benefit from lower financing costs

Analyst: Darren Chan

• The S-REITs Index rose 1.7% in September 2025, extending August’s 2.3% gain to bring YTD returns to 9.2%. The top performer for the month was Centurion Accommodation REIT (CAREIT SP, non-rated), jumping 18.2% from its 25 September 2025 IPO price of S$0.88 per unit. The worst performer was Acrophyte Hospitality Trust (ARAUS SP, non-rated), down 14.8%. Among the sub-sectors, hospitality was the strongest, rising 3.9%, while the overseas retail sector was the worst, falling 1.9%.
• We expect S-REITs to sustain their share price uptrend, supported by tailwinds from further interest rate cuts. The proportion of S-REITs reporting DPU growth in 3Q25 is likely to rise from the current c.40%, driven by lower funding costs and stable operating performance. The sector is trading at a forward dividend yield spread of c.3.6% (-0.4x s.d.) and at a P/NAV of 0.98x (-0.3x s.d.), which we view as attractive.
• We reiterate our OVERWEIGHT recommendation on S-REITs, favouring those with strong sponsors, robust balance sheets, and improving operating performance. Within sub-sectors, we prefer retail, particularly suburban malls, which have shown greater resilience in downturns and continue to deliver high single-digit positive rental reversions. We favour overseas S-REITs that offer high yields with resilient fundamentals, such as Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust (SERT SP, BUY, TP €1.86), Elite UK REIT (ELITE SP, BUY, TP: £0.39), and First REIT (FIRT SP, BUY, TP S$0.31). Potential catalysts include inorganic growth via asset recycling and a faster pace of interest rate cuts.

Netflix Inc.-Margin pressure raises concern

Recommendation: SELL; TP US$950.00; Last close: US$$1,113.59.; Analyst Helena Wang

• 3Q25 revenue was in line with expectations, while PATMI missed on US$619mn dispute with Brazilian tax authorities. Excluding this effect, 9M25 revenue/PATMI was at 73%/83%, in line with our FY25e estimates.
• Membership growth, pricing adjustments, and increased ad revenue drove revenue growth of 17% YoY. Management has projected 17% YoY growth for 4Q25.
• Our valuation remains unchanged with a DCF target price of US$950. No change in our FY25e forecast. We maintain our SELL recommendation. Our terminal growth and WACC assumptions remain unchanged. NFLX continues to demonstrate clear leadership in the VOD space and strong pricing power. However, we maintain a cautious view given its elevated valuation and ongoing margin pressures.

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