Singapore, February 7, 2026, 14:57 SGT — Markets have shut for the day.
- SGX slipped 0.4% by Friday’s close, following results earlier in the week and a round of new broker calls.
- Investors are sizing up if the momentum from derivatives trading will spill over into the new week.
- Traders are watching for any movement on equity-market reform, as well as waiting for the next dividend date.
Singapore Exchange Ltd (S68.SI) slipped 0.4% to finish at S$17.57 on Friday. Shares pulled back after earlier gains, following the bourse operator’s announcement of a robust half-year and an increased dividend earlier this week.
The market’s closed for the weekend, so attention turns to the next session to see if investors stick with SGX for its volatility-driven revenues — higher churn, more hedging, more fees — or if the shares drift back toward that steadier, yield-like pace.
SGX is caught between two shifting forces. Trading volumes ebb and surge with global risk sentiment, while Singapore’s efforts to spark equity liquidity are finally making their way into the story around the stock.
SGX posted first-half net revenue of S$695.4 million and adjusted net profit reached S$357.1 million, the company said Thursday. An interim quarterly dividend of 11.0 Singapore cents a share is set for payout on Feb. 24. CEO Loh Boon Chye described it as the group’s “strongest half-year performance” and kept the medium-term revenue growth goal at 6%-8%. Loh highlighted record derivatives daily average volume and an SGX FX average daily volume hitting US$180 billion for the period.
Late Friday broker calls leaned positive, but didn’t line up across the board. Maybank Securities analyst Thilan Wickramasinghe reiterated his “buy,” bumping the target to S$20.37 on hopes that the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) will “accelerate” cash-market momentum. DBS nudged its target up to S$19.20. Citi, though, stuck with “sell” and a S$14.90 target. Morningstar’s Roy Van Keulen pegged fair value closer to S$16, cautioning the EQDP boost may only be “temporary.” The Edge Singapore
Even so, the market treats SGX as a reliable long-term grower, not just benefiting from a single quarter’s surge. If demand for FX and commodity hedging pulls back, that drop will likely hit volumes fast. Equity market reforms also face a test—if liquidity doesn’t linger after the first wave of cash, results could disappoint.
The market backdrop remains rough. Tech names dragged Asian shares lower Friday, with worries mounting in Southeast Asia after Moody’s cut its outlook on Indonesia. Risk-off nerves like this tend to pull investors away from equities and crank up the urge to hedge.
For context: SGX’s main regional counterparts, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Japan Exchange Group, typically respond to just two factors — risk management appetite during sharp market moves, and cash-market turnover as sentiment shifts.
Singapore’s cash market kicks back into gear Monday, with SGX trading set for 0900-1200 and then 1300-1700 local time.
Looking to the coming week, investors eye cash-market moves for momentum, any new details on the EQDP rollout and the IPO lineup, plus whether iron ore and FX contracts continue carrying the load.
Feb. 24 marks the next key event: SGX is set to pay out its 11-cent dividend. That’s going to be an immediate test for the results-driven move—whether momentum holds up or stalls out waiting for the following catalyst.
