Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower on Tuesday (May 19) with the Nasdaq leading declines, after the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level in more than a year on mounting inflation concerns as oil prices stayed elevated and investors were anxious about the lack of a peace agreement between the US and Iran. The S&P 500 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq marked their third straight day of declines as investors took profits after a steep rally that started in late March.

Singapore stocks ended higher on Tuesday (May 19). Stocks gained 1.5 per cent or 75.59 points to finish at 5,072.34. City Developments Ltd (CDL) led the gainers, rising 4.8 per cent or S$0.38 to end at S$8.22. The worst performer was Wilmar International , which fell 1.6 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$3.65. The three local banks ended higher.

SG

Chocolate confectioner Delfi reported a 0.8 per cent dip in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to US$16.8 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from US$17 million the year before. The slight drop in Ebitda came even as net sales for the quarter rose 6.2 per cent year on year to US$159.1 million.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has secured US$1.03 billion in new orders for the year to date, bringing its outstanding order book to US$22.3 billion, the group said in a first-quarter business update on Tuesday (May 19). The order wins bring the shipbuilder closer to its target of US$4.5 billion for the 2026 financial year.

City Developments Ltd (CDL) non-executive and non-independent director Kwek Leng Peck is returning to the post he vacated six years later, and will take on the role of vice-chairman.

Shares of Frencken fell by as much as 15.5 per cent or S$0.47 to S$2.57 shortly after market open on Tuesday (May 19), weighed down by a dive in its latest first-quarter earnings as well as a broader fall in the tech sector. It posted a profit after tax and minority interest of S$8 million for Q1 2026, down 20.2 per cent from S$10 million in the year-ago period. This came as revenue fell 6.4 per cent to S$202 million from S$215.8 million.

US

Yields on the US Treasury’s longest-dated bond rose to the highest level in almost two decades as investor concerns mount that accelerating inflation will force central bankers to raise interest rates. The 30-year yield rose as much as seven basis points to 5.2 per cent on Tuesday (May 19), a level last seen on the eve of the 2007 global financial crisis. Bond markets across Europe and Japan also fell, while the sell-off spilled over into US equity markets.

Gold held a decline as a lack of progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz continued to fuel concerns over inflation and increase bets that global central banks may hike interest rates. Bullion was trading around US$4,480 an ounce, after falling almost 2 per cent on Tuesday (May 19).

Meta Platforms is reassigning 7,000 workers to new jobs related to artificial intelligence, according to an internal memo, part of a broad corporate restructuring that includes planned staff reductions later this week. Employees will move into one of several new groups focused on AI-related products, including agents and apps.

A US jury on Monday (May 18) ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable to the world’s richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.

Alphabet’s Google agreed to create an artificial intelligence cloud business with Blackstone, aiming to compete with companies like CoreWeave in a burgeoning market. The project will rely on an initial US$5 billion in equity capital from Blackstone, which will become the majority owner.

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

Lendlease Global Commercial REIT – Singapore retail portfolio fundamentals sound

Recommendation: BUY (Maintained), Target Price: S$0.73, Last Done: S$0.57, Analyst: Hashim Osman

• No financials were provided for 3Q26. Retail rental reversion for YTD renewed leases increased 12.2%. Portfolio occupancy stood at 95.3% (+0.4 ppts QoQ). Milan office Buildings 1 and 2 had CPI-linked rental uplift of 1.5% from Apr26. We expect retail rental reversion to remain in the low-double-digit range into 4Q26.
• PLQ mall enhancement works on c. 16,000 sqft across levels 1 and 2 have been progressing, with level 1 space already pre-leased. Level 2 leasing is in progress. Income contribution from the reconfigured spaces is expected to begin in 2H27, with peak downtime anticipated in Oct27/Nov27. The PLQ Mall acquisition is expected to deliver 2% DPU accretion.
• We maintain our BUY recommendation. There are no changes to our forecast. LREIT is trading at a FY26e P/NAV of 0.70x, with a dividend yield of c. 5.86%. We see the strengthening capital structure and PLQ Mall reconfiguration as key drivers, partially offset by the drag from Milan Building 3.

SIA – Weighed down by associates

Recommendation: NEUTRAL; TP S$6.43; Last close: S$6.5400; Analyst Hashim Osman

• 2H26/FY26 PATMI declined 53.6%/57.4% YoY to S$945mn/S$1,184mn, forming 97%/78% of our FY26e estimates. Associate losses weighed on earnings, with full-year Air India losses at S$828.5mn.
• 2H26 operating profit surged 72% YoY to S$1,572mn, due to i) stronger passenger yield (up 3.8% YoY) and larger traffic growth (up 4.7% YoY), and ii) a S$178mn YoY decline in net fuel cost, as fuel hedging led to a S$218mn hedging gain in 2H26.
• We maintain NEUTRAL with lower TP of S$6.43 (prev: S$7.00). The P/B multiple has been reduced from 1.3x to 1.1x to reflect heightened sector risk following the US-Iran conflict, and fuel costs for FY27e have been increased to account for cheaper hedges rolling off. SIA’s strong balance sheet and its special dividend policy through FY28 provide downside support.

ST Engineering Ltd – Long runway for growth

Recommendation: BUY; TP S$13.00; Last close: S$11.0200; Analyst Paul Chew

• 1Q26 revenue was within expectations at 24% of our FY26e forecast. Revenue grew 15% YoY (excluding divested LeeBoy). The update mentioned that net profit exceeded 15% YoY, but no other details were provided. ST Engineering is on track to meet its 2025-29 target of growing earnings 5% points faster than revenue.
• Orderbook jumped around 16% YoY to S$34.5bn, with defence leading the order wins. The two major orders were S$470mn for the Qatar land platform MRO and S$600mn for eight gunboats for the Kuwait Naval Force. Commercial aerospace revenue expanded 15% YoY to S$1.32bn, supported by expansion in engine MRO technical capabilities and aircraft life extensions.
• We maintain our FY26e earnings and BUY recommendation. Our DCF target price of S$13.00 is unchanged. The Middle East conflict has not resulted in any significant project delays or supply chain disruptions in the near-term. The Middle East accounts for less than 3% of revenue. The largest growth opportunity is international defence. There are US$11bn in opportunities to pursue over the next two years. International defence orders secured this year have already doubled that of 2025.

Elite UK REIT Shows Strong Capital Management and Portfolio Growth, BUY Rating with S$0.41 Target

Frasers Centrepoint Trust Maintains Defensive Edge Amid Macro Uncertainty with BUY Rating and S$2.70 Target Price

Keppel Ltd Shows Resilient Asset Growth Amid Middle East Conflict Benefits, Maintains BUY with S$13.80 Target

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