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SINGAPORE, Jan 4, 2026, 14:40 ET \u2014 Market closed<\/p>\n
Singapore shares head into Monday\u2019s open with a stronger domestic growth backdrop after official data showed the economy expanded 4.8% in 2025, lifted by a 5.7% rise in fourth-quarter GDP.\u00a0 Ministry of Trade and Industry<\/a><\/p>\n That matters now because the advance estimates set expectations for early-2026 policy and profit outlooks, with investors also watching whether export-driven sectors can extend momentum as global rates stay sticky.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended Friday\u2019s session up 0.2% at 4,656.12, with traders likely to treat the 4,650 area as a near-term line in the sand ahead of the new week.\u00a0 Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/p>\n Overnight cues were steady but not uniform. The Dow rose 0.66% and the S&P 500 gained 0.19% on Friday, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.03%; the U.S. 10-year yield rose to 4.191% and the dollar index ticked higher.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n Energy was a mild drag on inflation-sensitive sentiment. Brent settled at $60.75 a barrel and U.S. crude at $57.32 on Jan. 2, while OPEC+ kept output steady for the first quarter, Reuters reported.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n In single-stock focus, United Overseas Bank said it bought back 39,000 shares on-market on Jan. 2 at S$35.10\u2013S$35.41, cancelling the shares \u2014 a buyback is when a company repurchases stock to reduce share count.\u00a0 Sgx<\/a><\/p>\n Singtel may also draw interest after filing a release that its associate Globe Telecom and Singtel-owned NCS completed a joint venture in the Philippines, expanding \u201cdigital, cloud, data and AI services\u201d capabilities via the combined platform.\u00a0 Sgx<\/a><\/p>\n On the macro beat, the growth surprise was driven by manufacturing clusters including electronics, and OCBC economist Selena Ling called 2025 a \u201cstunning year,\u201d in a Reuters report.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n Investors are also weighing the policy runway. The Ministry of Trade and Industry\u2019s current 2026 GDP forecast is 1% to 3%, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore\u2019s next policy review is due later in January.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n A key risk is that external demand cools faster than expected if trade frictions intensify, or if higher global yields and a firmer dollar tighten financial conditions for rate-sensitive sectors.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s next is a two-part test: the STI\u2019s reaction to the GDP print at Monday\u2019s open, and a global calendar packed with U.S. data, capped by next Friday\u2019s U.S. payrolls report.\u00a0 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n