DAILY MORNING NOTE | 13 February 2026

Trades Initiated in Past Week

Wall Street indexes fell sharply, with the Nasdaq slumping 2 per cent, as investors intensified their selloff of technology shares and fled transport stocks amid worries about artificial intelligence disruption. After starting the day higher, equity indexes turned negative as investors fled riskier sectors and placed more defensive bets such as utilities, consumer staples and real estate. At a time when investors have been stressed about the impact AI would have on competition, a less-than-impressive quarterly update from Cisco Systems helped to sour the market on technology stocks broadly. Transportation companies also got caught up in worries about AI disruption.

Singapore stocks ended higher on Thursday (Feb 12) as regional indices mostly tracked lower. Stocks gained 0.7 per cent or 32.18 points to finish at 5,016.76. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.1 per cent or 1.35 points to 1,519.58. Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 315 to 300, after 1.3 billion securities worth S$2.2 billion changed hands. Wilmar led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 2.6 per cent or S$0.09 to end at S$3.59. The worst performer was CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, falling 3.9 per cent or S$0.11 to close at S$2.70.

Singapore Technical Highlights

TOP 5 GAINERS & LOSERS

Events Of The Week

SG

iX Biopharma has been awarded a US$40.95 million development contract by the US Department of Defense to fund the development of Wafermine®, its patented sublingual ketamine wafer for the treatment of acute moderate to severe pain.

StarHub posted net profit of S$38.5 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, a 50.9 per cent decline from S$78.4 million in the year-ago period. This translated to an earnings per share (EPS) of S$0.019, down 55.3 per cent from S$0.043 in H2 2024. Its H2 revenue stood at S$1.2 billion, down 3.1 per cent on the year from S$1.3 billion.

Singtel posted a 43.5 per cent surge in net profit to S$1.9 billion for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, from S$1.3 billion in the year-ago period. The increase in earnings was attributed to a higher exceptional gain from Singtel’s partial sale of its stake in Airtel. The telco booked a S$1.15 billion net exceptional gain primarily from the sale, the telco said in a Q3 business update on Thursday.

Digital bank and wealth management platform iFast posted a 70.4 per cent rise in net profit to S$32.9 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, up from S$19.3 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Steel fabricator BRC Asia on Thursday (Feb 12) reported a net profit of S$27.3 million for the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2025. This compares with a profit after tax of S$19.5 million recorded in the year-ago period. Revenue for Q1 rose 27 per cent to S$444.3 million, from S$349.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

Higher-than-expected tax revenue has taken Singapore’s fiscal surplus for FY2025 to a record S$15.1 billion, more than double the earlier estimate of S$6.8 billion. Singapore expects smaller S$8.5 billion surplus in FY2026, in line with economists’ expectations.

Waste management company Sen Yue Holdings on Thursday (Feb 12) received a voluntary unconditional general offer from Cenvios Holdings to acquire all its shares at S$0.008 apiece.

Creative Technology posted a net loss of US$1.2 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2025, narrowing from a loss of US$6.1 million in the year-ago period.

Lum Chang on Thursday (Feb 12) announced a net profit of S$7.3 million for the first half ended Dec 31, 2025, up 108 per cent from S$3.5 million in the previous corresponding period. Earnings per share stood at S$0.0194 for the recorded period, an increase from S$0.0093 in H1 FY2025.

US

Pinterest forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates on Thursday, underscoring the image-sharing platform’s ongoing struggle to compete for advertising dollars against deep-pocketed platforms, sending its shares down 12 per cent in extended trading.

Airbnb forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as the vacation rental company banks on premium bookings to counter easing demand from cost-conscious customers. Shares of the travel company rose about 5 per cent in volatile after-market trading. The company projected revenue between US$2.59 billion and US$2.63 billion for the quarter.

Apple’s iPhone was the only smartphone line to register growth in China sales in January. Every major Chinese mobile maker, from Huawei Technologies to Xiaomi, saw major declines in a market that was down 23 per cent overall, largely due to reduced subsidies and a shift in the timing of the Chinese New Year.

The administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the repeal of a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks.

International Business Machines (IBM) said that it will triple entry-level hiring in the US in 2026, even as artificial intelligence (AI) appears to be weighing on broader demand for early-career workers.

Coinbase posted a surprise quarterly loss on Thursday, marking its first since the third quarter of 2023, as the cryptocurrency exchange was hit by weaker trading volumes during a period of broad digital-asset selloff.

Sales of previously owned US homes fell in January by the most in nearly four years, a month marked by a massive winter storm. Contract closings decreased 8.4 per cent, the biggest drop since February 2022, to a 3.9 million annualised pace in January, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data released on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits decreased by less than expected last week, likely as disruptions from winter storms lingered. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended February 7, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Indian food safety officials have warned a McDonald’s outlet in Jaipur after an inspection found cooking oil unfit for consumption and rotten tomatoes in storage, prompting regulators to seize samples for testing.

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

RESEARCH REPORTS

Phillip Singapore Strategy: Budget 2026 – Strategic pivot to AI plus Equities booster

Analyst: Paul Chew

• FY2025 overall fiscal surplus was S$15.1bn (1.9% of GDP), more than double the estimated surplus of S$6.8bn (or 0.9% of GDP). It excludes land sales of S$20.7bn. Revenue was S$8bn higher than expected due to higher corporate and personal tax, while expenditure and net investment returns were within budget. FY2026 is expected to record a surplus of S$8.5bn (1% of GDP).
• Last year’s budget focus was on the multiple handouts to households and extra spending on infrastructure. The FY2026 budget made a strategic pivot on AI. It comes from S$37bn in research spending, tax deductions, and AI-related grants, AI transformation across 4 key sectors, the National AI Council, and more AI workforce training. On equities, a S$1.5bn top-up for the EQDP, a S$1.5 bn top-up of Anchor Fund for pre-IPO financing, and CPF contributors are given more equities exposure with life-cycle funds.
• The FY2026 budget had a greater emphasis on AI. With its constraints (natural resources, ageing population, and tight labour market), AI is Singapore’s critical strategic advantage. Growing AI use will benefit IT service providers and the data centre ecosystem. The defence sector will benefit from the expected rise in security-related expenditure in the coming years.

Market Journal articles powered by PhillipGPT

Keppel DC REIT Posts Record-High DPU Performance

Meta Platforms Q4 Performance Strong, Outlook Optimistic Despite Losses

Microsoft Strengthens Position on Azure Growth Despite Supply Constraints

PSR Stocks Coverage

For more information, please visit:

https://www.stocksbnb.com/singapore-stocks-coverage/