Singapore: Growth resilience faces external risks – DBS

101 finance2026/04/14 23:39

By:101 finance

Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold. Trade now!

A welcome pack worth 6200 USDT for new users! Sign up now!

DBS economist Chua Han Teng highlights that Singapore’s 1Q26 GDP growth was resilient, with real GDP up 4.6% year-on-year, but warns that the Iran war shock and global slowdown pose downside risks. DBS maintains its 2026 real GDP growth forecast at 2.8%, broadly aligned with MAS expectations for the output gap to average around zero as growth slows through 2026.

Firm start but outlook softens

"Singapore’s economy entered 2026 on a firm footing, reflected in resilient real GDP growth of 4.6% yoy and -0.3% qoq sa in 1Q26 (but slower than 5.7% yoy and 1.3% qoq sa in 4Q25), according to MTI’s advance estimates."

"The MAS’s decision also came amid still-resilient near-term economic growth dynamics, but with significant downside uncertainties in the coming quarters."

"We expect this resilience to be tested as the year progresses, with the highly open economy facing renewed geopolitical shocks."

"We maintain our 2026 real GDP growth forecast at 2.8%, but see downside external risks."

"Overall, our Singapore growth expectations appear aligned with the MAS’s view for GDP growth to slow over the course of 2026."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

Understand the market, then trade.

Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold.

Trade now！

By Doug Busch Shopify is no longer a pandemic-era growth story that simply failed to slow down. It is compounding at a pace few software platforms its size still manage. In the second quarter of 2026, sales on its platform rose 32%. That was the fifth straight quarter of growth exceeding 30%. Merchants are also using more of Shopify's own tools, from payments to Shop Pay, and new channels like AI shopping agents are starting to increase demand. The simple bull case is that the stock already commands a huge share of independent online commerce, and that position should become more valuable as more buying moves through its checkout. A rule of market mechanics is that the vast majority of an individual security's gain is driven by its underlying sector. Within technology, software has staged a robust recovery, joining semiconductors to power the broader sector higher. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has maintained an upward trajectory since its mid-April lows, though the advance from $74 to $112 has been choppy as bulls repeatedly stepped in to defend when necessary. Breadth across large-cap software has expanded significantly, with 24 constituents surging over 20% over the past three months. During that same three-month window, Shopify generated outstanding relative strength, advancing 36%, more than doubling the IGV's 17% gain over the same period. Expect the stock's outperformance to persist as software momentum broadens. Let's examine the daily and monthly charts to outline the technical drivers behind this thesis. Looking at the daily chart, the ratio chart against the IGV shows persistent outperformance extending back to mid-May. The stock is riding an eight-session winning streak, during which price action cleared a double-bottom-with-handle pivot at $151.39. Within this broader base, the stock recorded a bullish golden cross in late August and successfully filled its Sept. 10 price gap, tracing back to its Aug. 4 session, the day before a powerful earnings reaction sent the stock surging 17% hi

Dow Jones•2026/10/09 03:10