Straits Times falls 2.2% to 5,179.17 as technology sell-off broadens

Key Facts

Singapore’s Straits Times Index ended Friday, November 6, down 2.2%, losing 117.08 points to close at 5,179.17, according to The Business Times. The decline came amid regional losses following a sharp sell-off in U.S. technology and semiconductor stocks. Nearly all index constituents closed lower, broadening selling pressure in the Singapore market. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the declines, while bank stocks came under pressure after third-quarter results were announced during the week. The index’s performance reflected the spread of aversion to technology stocks into Asian markets, as investors reassessed the sector’s risks and returns.

Singapore technology companies’ shares recorded sharp losses during the week ended November 6. AEM fell 20% on a weekly basis, while UMS Integration declined 18.9% and Frencken fell 16.2%, according to The Business Times. In Friday’s session alone, AEM fell 2.7%, or S$0.17. The sector had already performed poorly in October, when the FTSE ST All-Share Technology Index fell 17.3%, making technology Singapore’s worst-performing sector for the month. These moves show that the latest session’s sell-off followed a month of sector declines, with losses extending to semiconductor companies and their suppliers.

The pressure in Asia followed a 5.52% drop in the Nasdaq Composite on Thursday, November 5, its largest one-day decline in 19 months, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12.3% overnight, according to The Business Times. The Associated Press reported that the S&P 500 lost 4.4% in the same session, its worst decline since the tariff turmoil in April 2025, while the Nasdaq fell 5.5%. The Nasdaq’s drop erased the previous session’s gains, which had been the index’s best in three months. In Asia on Friday, South Korea’s Kospi fell 6.0% to 5,059.69, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.3% to 24,481.86, according to the agency. Losses thus spread across regional markets after the U.S. sell-off, with Singapore falling in line with the region.

The Business Times linked the sell-off to concerns about tighter oversight of AI infrastructure development after Democrats won the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. Reuters quoted Melissa Brown of SimCorp as saying investors were beginning to realize that some newly elected members of Congress and governors wanted to slow the development of this infrastructure. Brown added that any slowdown could raise concerns because the sector’s growth story had relied on rapid infrastructure expansion. According to Reuters, Democrats won seven Senate seats, at least 39 House seats and five governorships, results that fueled investor concerns about regulation. The elections also raised uncertainty about approvals for new data centers and their connections to power grids, as investors questioned whether returns would justify massive infrastructure spending.

The Associated Press pointed to growing local opposition to data centers in the United States: about three-quarters of U.S. voters oppose building a new data center in their communities, according to the agency’s voter poll. An election-related analysis identified 47 referendums in 44 municipalities and 12 states, with restrictions approved in 44 of the 45 referendums that had completed their count. Also, 32 of 34 winning gubernatorial candidates in decided races supported tighter regulation or restrictions on data centers, while 12 backed a ban or temporary pause. These results come amid political concerns that have affected AI stocks, particularly the possibility of delays in building data centers or connecting them to electricity. OpenAI, meanwhile, said it had published a new framework with commitments to communities where it develops data centers, and called for clear rules for building out the sector.

Singapore technology companies are also facing questions about orders, production capacity, and AI’s contribution to earnings and cash flows. The Singapore Exchange said updates from companies reporting in November would provide indicators on these points. For banks, the reporting calendar included UOB’s third-quarter performance update on November 4, DBS results on November 5, and OCBC’s financial results on November 6. Bank stocks were among the factors weighing on the index after third-quarter results were released during the week, according to The Business Times. DBS Group Research said market sentiment toward AI trades could remain weak and that medium-term earnings risks for Singapore semiconductor companies skewed to the downside. Market attention in the coming period will focus on what company updates reveal about orders and capacity utilization, as well as the effect of AI-related demand on earnings and cash flows.