SINGAPORE, March 9, 2026, 16:55 SGT
Singapore shares slipped on Monday afternoon, as the Straits Times Index dropped 2.3% to 4,736.98 by 2:56 p.m. local time. Earlier, the STI had touched 4,697.52, before pulling off that low. Still, the slight rebound barely registered.
This shift carries weight: oil’s now the market’s critical pressure point. Crude at one point blasted higher by roughly 25%, Brent peaking at $119.50 a barrel. That run-up rattled investors enough to push out their bets on the next U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut, with inflation worries roaring back.
Selling hit hard across the board, though Singapore managed to avoid the sharpest drop in the region. By midday, South Korea’s Kospi plunged 8%, Japan’s Nikkei lost 6.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 2.6%. The STI, after an even deeper slide earlier, trimmed its loss to 2.7%.
Banks and travel-related stocks took most of the hit. By 4:36 p.m., DBS had slid 1.3%. In midday trading, DBS, OCBC, and UOB showed losses of 2.0%, 2.6%, and 2.2% respectively. Singapore Airlines dropped 3.0% at 4:17 p.m. Airlines throughout Asia were under pressure too, squeezed by rising fuel costs and airspace snags in the Middle East.
Oil and gas stocks stood out. Rex International climbed 10.5% by midday, while RH PetroGas surged 28.6% as traders moved to tap into gains from rising crude prices.
“Upward pressure on prices isn’t going anywhere unless oil starts moving again through the Strait of Hormuz and we see some calm return to the region,” said Vasu Menon, OCBC’s managing director for investment strategy. For the aviation sector, Brendan Sobie, an independent analyst based in Singapore, pointed out that the crisis hit when there was already a “high level of uncertainty.” Reuters
Stagflation looms in the backdrop: growth slows down, prices keep rising. Oil’s jump has knocked the anticipated Fed rate cut from the middle of the year back to September. That shift signals investors expect any inflation bump could stick around if supply stays tight, for now.
The slide might not last if governments succeed in limiting the energy shock. G7 finance chiefs will talk through a possible coordinated release of emergency oil stockpiles, but Kpler’s Muyu Xu, senior oil analyst, points out that prices are facing a “perfect storm”—Gulf output cuts plus the Strait of Hormuz still mostly closed. Reuters
The STI ended Friday at 4,848.25. FTSE Russell last week kept the index’s 30 members unchanged in its March quarterly review, so market attention has shifted back to oil prices, rates, and how much risk investors are willing to take in the region.
