Singapore stocks retreat as chip sell-off weighs on markets
Decliners outnumbered advancers 455 to 190, while Singapore semiconductor counters faced selling pressure for a third consecutive session.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 5,403.50 on Oct 15, 2026, dropping 19.83 points, or 0.4 per cent, as a global sell-off in semiconductor shares weighed on regional equities. Trading across the Singapore market totalled 1.4 billion securities valued at S$2.6 billion.
Among STI stocks, Seatrium recorded the steepest decline, losing S$0.09, or 4.6 per cent, to S$1.85. DFI Retail Group topped the gainers with a US$0.07 increase, or 2.2 per cent, to US$3.32.
The local banks moved in different directions. UOB gained S$0.63, or 1.5 per cent, to S$41.69, while DBS dropped S$0.59, or 0.8 per cent, to S$73.75. OCBC edged down S$0.01, or 0.03 per cent, to S$28.99.
Singapore semiconductor shares came under pressure for the third consecutive session. AEM Holdings, UMS Integration and CSE Global each recorded declines exceeding 9 per cent during trading.
The selling followed further losses on Wall Street. On Oct 14, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 4.3 per cent, bringing its six-session decline to 12 per cent. That was its longest losing run in 17 months, with US$1.6 trillion in market value erased over the period. Stronger-than-expected US inflation fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve may have to increase interest rates further, putting particular pressure on technology and artificial intelligence-related shares.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi fell 7.6 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 4.9 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1 per cent, while Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 0.2 per cent.
