Last Week's Recap
1. Weekly Market Digest: Stocks Flat, Yields at 2007 Highs, Inflation Moderates, Oil Rebounds
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Flat market — U.S. indexes were little changed as stocks took a breather after the prior week's record highs. S&P 500 and NASDAQ ended fractionally higher; Dow fractionally lower.
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Elevated yields — 30-year Treasury yield climbed back to ~5.26% (highest since 2007); 10-year at 4.69%, while the 2-year eased slightly to 4.17%.
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Moderating inflation — July CPI held steady at 3.4% annual rate (down from June's 3.5%); PPI showed inflation little changed from the prior month.
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Robust revenue — S&P 500 Q2 revenue growth on pace for 15% (highest since Q4 2021), per FactSet; earnings growth tracking above 50%, strongest since Q2 2021.
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Oil rebounds — U.S. crude rose above $82 Friday (from $78 a week earlier) on Middle East developments, though still well below the $92+ peak touched July 23.
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Consumer setbacks — July retail sales fell 0.6% (first decline in nine months); consumer sentiment weakened but inflation expectations remained stable.
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Small-cap record — Russell 2000 set a record high on Wednesday and finished up more than 1% for the week, modestly outperforming large caps.
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Rate outlook — CME FedWatch: ~67% probability Fed holds steady in September, 33% odds of a 25bp hike (down from 67% hike probability two weeks earlier).
2. US Market – SPX gains 0.36% as chip rebound offset mega-cap tech weakness
The $S&P 500(.SPX)$ gained 0.36% and closed at 7,785.76, as a rebound in semiconductor names and the SpaceX IPO offset declines in mega-cap tech and Broadcom.
Industry leaders: NVIDIA Portfolio (+21.34%), Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing (+15.55%), Oil & Gas Drilling (+12.13%), Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (+7.31%), and Heavy Electrical Equipment (+6.36%).
10 Popular Stocks:
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$SK hynix(SKHY)$ +20.61% — The RF semiconductor specialist surged on 5G and AI edge-computing demand.
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$Micron Technology(MU)$ +10.72% — The memory-chip maker rallied on HBM supply-demand tightness and AI server DRAM pricing resilience.
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$Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ +6.42% — The chip designer advanced on AI accelerator market-share optimism.
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$ASML Holding NV(ASML)$ +5.92% — The lithography equipment leader gained on front-end semiconductor capex optimism.
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$SpaceX(SPCX)$ +5.18% — The space and AI conglomerate rebounded from post-IPO lows as investors digested the xAI merger.
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$Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ +4.17% — The EV maker bounced back on robotaxi optimism and delivery stabilization hopes.
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$Apple(AAPL)$ -2.36% — The iPhone maker declined on profit-taking ahead of its upcoming product cycle.
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$Alphabet(GOOGL)$ -2.37% — The search giant slipped on ad-spending slowdown concerns.
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$Amazon.com(AMZN)$ -4.31% — The cloud leader fell on AWS growth deceleration worries.
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$Broadcom(AVGO)$ -8.13% — The custom-AI-chip giant collapsed on valuation concerns and execution risks around its rumored OpenAI deal.
Performance is subjected to market volatility
3. Hong Kong Market – HSI retreats 2.15% as tech and insurance carnage offset crypto and chip resilience
$HSI(HSI)$: The Hang Seng Index declined 2.15% and closed at 25,116.85, as heavy selling in internet giants and insurers overwhelmed modest gains in semiconductors and retail plays. The index struggled to hold the 25,200 level.
The $HSTECH(HSTECH)$ tumbled 3.1% and closed at 4,707.62, with platform-economy names leading the decline.
Industry leaders: Crypto Spot ETF (+52.64%), Transaction & Payment Processing Services (+34.09%), and Leisure Products (+8.68%).
7 Popular Stocks:
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$SMIC(00981)$ +5.83% — The mainland foundry advanced on domestic AI chip demand and tech-decoupling proxy positioning, one of the few tech names to escape the rout.
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$ZJ INNOLIGHT(03308)$ +5.77% — The department store operator gained on China consumer-spending stabilization and regional retail recovery hopes.
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$BABA-W(09988)$ -3.48% — The tech conglomerate declined on platform-economy profit-taking and e-commerce margin concerns.
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$PING AN(02318)$ -4.46% — The mainland insurer fell on investment-yield pressure and property-sector credit exposure worries.
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$AIA(01299)$ -5.06% — The pan-Asian life insurer slumped on new-business-value growth concerns in China and Hong Kong.
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$CHINA LIFE(02628)$ -6.94% — The mainland insurance bellwether tracked the sector lower as equity-market volatility hit investment-book valuations.
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$TENCENT(00700)$ -8.1% — The internet giant was the week's worst large-cap performer, collapsing on gaming and fintech valuation compression as margin calls amplified the decline.
Performance is subjected to market volatility
4. Singapore Market – STI gains 0.79% as OCBC surge and SpaceX SDR debut offset Tencent rout
The $Straits Times Index(STI.SI)$ gained 0.79% and closed at 5,743.59, as a blowout rally in OCBC and the newly listed SpaceX SDR offset sharp declines in UOB, Tencent, and Indonesian financials.
Industry leaders: Forest Products (+27.44%), Alternative Carriers (+23.47%), Gas Utilities (+14.87%), Paper Packaging (+13.02%), and Semiconductor Equipment (+12.38%).
10 Popular Stocks:
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$SpaceX US SDR 100to1(UXSD.SI)$ +27.97% — The SpaceX SDR (commenced trading 22 July 2026) skyrocketed as Singapore investors chased exposure to Elon Musk's space and AI conglomerate.
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$OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$ +8.39% — The banking heavyweight surged on resilient regional credit demand and record non-interest income, significantly outperforming DBS and UOB.
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$ST Engineering(S63.SI)$ +6.93% — The government-linked engineering group advanced on defense contract momentum and smart-city solutions.
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$DBS(D05.SI)$ +1.68% — Singapore's largest bank rose modestly on record Q1 profit momentum.
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$Delta TH SDR 1to1(TDED.SI)$ +3.13% — The Thai power-electronics SDR gained on AI data-center power-supply demand.
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$UOB(U11.SI)$ -4.08% — The third-largest local bank slumped on profit-taking and margin normalization concerns.
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$Ping An Ins HK SDR2to1(HPAD.SI)$ -4.07% — The insurer's SDR pulled back on China property-sector credit exposure.
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$TLKM ID SDR 1to5(ITKD.SI)$ -4.62% — The Indonesian telecom giant's SDR declined on regional emerging-market rotation.
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$Tencent HK SDR 10to1(HTCD.SI)$ -7.66% — The internet giant's SDR collapsed on gaming and fintech valuation compression.
Performance is subjected to market volatility
5. Australian Market – XJO slips 1.6% as bank earnings disappoint and resources drag
The $S&P/ASX 200(XJO.AU)$ declined 1.6% to 9,115.2 over the week, as a sharp selloff in the Big Four banks and Rio Tinto offset strength in energy, lithium, and healthcare. The index broke below the 9,200 level as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings reports.
Industry leaders: Interactive Home Entertainment (+18.08%), Environmental & Facilities Services (+13.53%), Home Furnishings (+10.00%), Electrical Components & Equipment (+9.55%), and Electronic Components (+9.33%).
10 Popular Stocks:
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$ORIGIN ENERGY LTD(ORG.AU)$ +11.55% — The integrated energy giant surged after raising its FY26 Energy Markets EBITDA guidance to $1,550–$1,750 million (up from $1,400–$1,700 million) on strong electricity performance. H1 statutory profit was $557 million with an interim dividend of 30 cents, fully franked, and net debt/EBITDA at a conservative 2.0x.
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$SANTOS LIMITED(STO.AU)$ +4.31% — The oil & gas producer advanced after reporting a 3% increase in Q2 2026 production, with the stock trading around $8.04.
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$PLS Group Ltd(PLS.AU)$ +6.33% — The lithium miner bounced back as UBS shifted to Neutral on lithium after a two-year bearish stance, lifting its 2026 price forecast to US$1,800/t on stronger battery energy storage demand. UBS maintains a $4 target on PLS.
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$CSL LIMITED(CSL.AU)$ +3.26% — The biotech heavyweight advanced on resilient plasma-collection volumes and CSL Behring pricing momentum.
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$ANZ GROUP HOLDINGS LTD(ANZ.AU)$ +3.07% — The Melbourne-based lender bucked the banking-sector weakness, rising on institutional-banking resilience and better-than-feared capital ratios.
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$TELSTRA GROUP LTD(TLS.AU)$ -4.02% — The telecom incumbent declined on yield-proxy rotation and mobile pricing competition concerns.
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$Rio Tinto Ltd(RIO.AU)$ -4.09% — The diversified miner slid on Pilbara iron ore shipment concerns and copper profit-taking.
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$COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA(CBA.AU)$ -6.09% — Australia's largest lender slumped despite reporting H2 cash NPAT up 7% to ~$11 billion and a final dividend of $2.70 (up 20c). Investors focused on the 3bps NIM compression to 2.05% and conservative FY27 mortgage growth guidance of 4–5%.
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$WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION(WBC.AU)$ -6.75% — The Sydney-based lender underperformed on deposit competition concerns and weaker implied revenue guidance, with the stock trading near $36.61 by mid-August.
Performance is subjected to market volatility
The Week Ahead: Aug 17- 21
Macro Factors：FOMC Minutes (Wed)
Key Focus: FOMC Minutes (Wed) — markets will parse the details behind the three dissents at the July meeting and any clues on the September rate decision.
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