DAILY MORNING NOTE | 24 April 2026

Singapore blue chips closed lower on Thursday (Apr 23) as Brent crude oil breached US$100 a barrel amid persistent tensions in the Middle East. The local benchmark lost 1.2 per cent or 58.61 points to finish at 4,944.11. Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 389 to 226, with 1.8 billion securities worth S$2.3 billion changed hands.

U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Thursday as hopes dimmed for a quick end to the Iran war, while investors grappled with a mixed bag of earnings reports as concerns resurfaced about AI-driven disruption across the software sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 179.71 points, or 0.36%, to 49,310.32, the S&P 500 lost.

Singapore Technical Highlights

TOP 5 GAINERS & LOSERS

EVENTS OF THE WEEK

SG

Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) recorded a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.01936 for its first quarter ended Mar 31, 2026. This is up 23.9 per cent from S$0.01563 in the year-ago period. The manager on Thursday (Apr 23) noted that the improvements came amid stronger operating performance from the Singapore retail and office portfolios, and lower financing costs.

Grocery store operator Sheng Siong said it sees further room for margin improvement, although the Iran conflict could exert “upward pressure on costs and prices”, in response to shareholder queries ahead of its annual general meeting on Apr 29.

CapitaLand Investment has won a S$2.4 billion real estate investment mandate from Income Insurance. Under the mandate, CLI will manage Income Insurance’s direct real estate portfolio, comprising retail, commercial and industrial assets held directly by the insurer and through its joint ventures.

Even as fuel and logistics costs rise, ST Engineering remains upbeat on its ability to deal with the fallout from the war in the Middle East.“The impact is assessed to be not material at the group level,” said chief executive officer Vincent Chong at the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday (Apr 23).

Keppel reported a slightly lower year-on-year net profit for the first quarter ended March, as lower real estate contributions offset higher earnings from its infrastructure and connectivity segments. This excluded the company’s “non-core portfolio for divestment and discontinued operations”.

A case brought against a subsidiary of real estate company PropNex over alleged breach of duty of care and negligence has been dropped by its originators. In a bourse filing on Thursday (Apr 23), the group said that the claimants had discontinued and withdrawn their lawsuit against its wholly owned subsidiary PropNex Realty (PRL).

Dr Ng Chin Siau, founder and CEO of Q&M Dental Group is yet again involved in another private, off-market transactions with external parties. In an April 23 SGX filing, Quan Min Holdings, an entity used by Ng and related parties to control Q&M Dental Group, disposed 27 million shares in the company on April 22 to Asdew Acquisitions, Han Seng Juan, and Bryan Lim via married deal.

First REIT had a challenging 1Q2026 due to currency headwinds. Rental and other income declined 8.4% y-o-y to $23.2 million in 1Q2026. Net property and other income fell 8.3% y-o-y to $22.5 million over the same period.

The IPO of Kin Global Limited is approximately four times subscribed. Priced at 23 cents each, the IPO comprised of one million shares through public offer and 23.93 million shares through the placement offer, which includes 5.148 million reserved shares set aside for its management, directors, employees and business associates.

US

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose last week, though they remain at a level consistent with low layoffs. Initial claims increased by 6,000 to 214,000 in the week ended April 18, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve a merger with Paramount Skydance Corp., despite widespread opposition to the deal in Hollywood.

Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. is in “very advanced discussions” with the US government on terms of a material financing package, its lawyer Marshall Huebner said Thursday.

Super Micro Computer Inc. sank after BlueFin Research wrote that the server company had “lost a significant contract” with Oracle Corp.

Comcast Corp. reported first-quarter financial results that exceeded analysts’ estimates with fewer losses among broadband customers, offsetting lackluster growth at its Peacock streaming service.

Newmont beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday as record gold prices helped offset lower production, though the world’s largest gold miner warned of a slightly lower output and elevated costs in the current quarter.

Intel forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Thursday, underscoring booming demand for the company’s server processors used for artificial intelligence in data centers.

Meta Platforms Inc. plans to cut 10% of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 employees, in an effort to boost efficiency and offset heavy spending on artificial intelligence, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday.

Microsoft is planning its first voluntary employee buyout in the Windows maker’s 51-year history. The company will also invest A$25 billion ($18 billion) in Australia through 2029 to expand artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, marking its largest-ever commitment in the country.

ASML Holding shares fell 3.3% on Thursday after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it will postpone deploying the Dutch company’s most advanced lithography machines.

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

RESEARCH REPORTS

Singapore REITs Monthly – Negatives largely priced in

Analyst: Darren Chan

• The S-REITs Index fell 6.9% in March 2026, extending the 1.9% decline in February 2026. Suntec REIT (SUN SP, ACCUMULATE, TP S$1.63) was the only REIT in the green for the month, rising 2.8% following the completion of the acquisition of its REIT manager by Acrophyte Asset Management. KORE US REIT (KORE SP, non-rated) was the worst performer, falling 17.7% as it resumed dividends in 2H25 with a c.10% payout. Healthcare was the best-performing sub-sector for the month, declining 0.7%, while overseas commercial was the weakest, falling 12.9%.
• The S-REITs Index is now trading at a forward dividend yield spread of c.3.8% (mean) and a P/NAV of 0.9x (-1.1x s.d.). At these levels, valuations appear to have largely factored in downside risks stemming from the Middle East conflict, which has driven more hawkish interest rate expectations. Meanwhile, the impact of higher utility costs has been broadly contained, as most costs are either hedged or passed through to tenants.
• We reiterate our OVERWEIGHT recommendation on S-REITs, but are more selective. We favour names with strong balance sheets, earnings resilience, and potential for DPU growth. We think S-REITs’ share prices are supported by global fund flows into stable, defensive strategies, with the sector viewed as a safe-haven amid market volatility and heightened geopolitical tensions. Within sub-sectors, we prefer retail, where rental reversions are expected to remain robust in the high single-digits in 2026. Our top picks are high-yielding S-REITs (above 8.5%) with resilient portfolios, such as Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust (SERT SP, BUY, TP €1.89), Elite UK REIT (ELITE SP, BUY, TP: £0.41), and United Hampshire US REIT (UHU SP, BUY, TP US$0.69). We also like Prime US REIT (PRIME SP, BUY, TP US$0.32), for its attractive valuation (0.34x P/NAV) and cash flow visibility.

OUE REIT – Hospitality and office lead growth amid lower financing costs

Recommendation: BUY; TP S$0.45; Last close: S$1.1100; Analyst Hashim Osman

• 1Q26 gross revenue/NPI rose 6.7%/8.4% YoY to S$70.5mn/S$57.6mn, forming 26%/26% of our full year forecasts. The results were driven by strong performance in the hospitality segment and a decline in financing costs due to reduced interest rates and loan repayments.
• The hospitality segment revenue increased 15.1% YoY to S$26.8mn, whereas NPI increased 16.8% YoY to S$24.3mn. Hospitality segment RevPAR was up 11.7% to S$277 in 1Q26. The improvement was driven by a strong MICE pipeline in 1Q26, and proactive execution by focusing on corporate travellers and providing flexible pricing for guests.
• We maintain BUY with unchanged DDM-based TP of S$0.45. Earnings contribution from Salesforce Tower has been accounted for, and FY26e financing costs have been reduced by c. 3%. FY26e DPU estimate is increased incrementally by 1% to 2.26 cents. OUE REIT is trading at a FY26e dividend yield of 6.2%, and a P/NAV of 0.65x. We expect upside to come from i) conversion of OUE Bayfront chiller space into office space, ii) Deloitte’s below-market rent reverting to at least S$9 / psf if contract is renewed, iii) redeployment of capital from the potential divestment of One Raffles Place to acquire an additional stake in Salesforce Tower Sydney. There is limited first-order impact from the ongoing Iran conflict, as majority of utility costs are on fixed contracts.

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