Singapore — January 5, 2026 — 2:11 AM ET
- STI +0.69% to 4,688.03 by 2:59 p.m. Singapore time, with 4,690.48 on the day’s highs.
- Oil whipsawed and split the energy tape: Sembcorp +0.5%, Rex +1.4%, China Aviation Oil -1.8%.
- Offshore oil-services names ran, then chopped: Seatrium +1.38%, while Nam Cheong -3% and Beng Kuang Marine -3.1%.
Singapore shares pushed higher.
The Straits Times Index jumped 0.69% to 4,688.03 on SGX by 2:59 p.m. local time (delayed), after sweeping a 4,668.69 low and tagging 4,690.48 intraday.
Risk appetite stayed alive.
Asia kicked off the first full trading week of 2026 with equities bid even as Venezuela headlines hit the tape, and Singapore didn’t blink with the region in rally mode.
Oil drove the tape.
Brent slid to about US$60.33 a barrel and traders treated Venezuela as a supply story, leaving Sembcorp Industries up 0.5% while China Aviation Oil dropped 1.8% and Rex International climbed 1.4%.
Offshore plays swung hard.
Seatrium rose 1.38% to S$2.20 and ASL Marine gained 1.7% to 30 cents, but Nam Cheong sank 3% to 96 cents and Beng Kuang Marine slid 3.1% to 31 cents.
Asia kept the pressure.
By early afternoon in Singapore, the Kospi and Taiwan’s Taiex were up about 3%, Shanghai’s CSI 300 added 1.6%, Malaysia’s KLCI rose almost 0.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.1% while the broader MSCI Asia-Pac ex-Japan index hit a record.
Havens still caught bids.
Gold pushed above US$4,395 an ounce and silver topped US$75 after the Maduro capture headlines, a split-screen signal that traders bought risk and insurance at the same time.
SGX reset its branding.
The exchange said its equities business now runs as “SGX Stock Exchange” at the STI’s 60th anniversary event, after it worked through the Equities Market Review Group recommendations and pointed to stronger 2025 market metrics. The Straits Times
The levels look clean.
The STI opened at 4,670.04, carved a 4,668.69–4,690.48 range, and kept trading above the 4,656.12 prior close, so 4,690 sits as the near-term line that triggers stops and momentum orders.
Now the ugly part.
Trump talked up further strikes and U.S. control of Venezuela, and that headline risk turns every crude tick into a volatility event that hits Singapore cyclicals and whipsaws the thinly traded oil-services names.
Next catalyst: the close.
Watch the 5 p.m. Singapore finish for whether the STI holds above 4,668.69 and keeps pressing 4,690.48, then brace for the 9:30 a.m. ET cash open.
