The United States and Israel launch military actions against Iran, with the conflict between the two sides escalating and impacting global stock markets. The Singapore local stock market opened lower on Monday (March 2); the Straits Times Index fell over 2%, marking the first such decline since April 2025 when U.S. President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs.
Local blue-chip stocks almost all declined, with only two Straits Times Index constituents rising at the open: Wilmar International and ST Engineering.
ST Engineering, a defense stock, saw its price quickly rise after the market opened on Monday, reporting SGD 10.14 at 10:40 AM, an increase of 1.705%. The defense business of ST Engineering accounts for a significant portion of its overall revenue, and its stock price has increased by as much as 87.25% over the past year.
Wilmar International's gains peaked at 1.71% before retreating, with the increase narrowing to 0.284%, reporting SGD 3.53 at 10:43 AM.
On the other hand, the turbulent situation has led to a continuous rise in gold prices, benefiting related stocks such as gold mining and jewelry. CNMC Goldmine's stock price rose over 12%, increasing by 12.139% to SGD 1.94; other mining and jewelry stocks generally retreated after an initial rise at the open.
<h4>Further Reading</h4>
Local stock market opened down over 100 points on Monday

 Middle East conflict intensifies, gold price rises nearly 2% at one point; analysis suggests it may reach USD 6,300 by year-end


The local stock market is also under pressure in multiple sectors. Due to military conflicts affecting air travel and driving up oil prices, airline stocks are the most significantly impacted, with declines around 6%.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) saw a drop of nearly 7% in the morning, reporting SGD 6.74 at 10:45 AM, down 6.128%. SATS also fell 6.378%, reporting SGD 3.67; China Aviation Oil (Singapore) dropped 5.941%.
Energy and bank stocks are similarly affected. Keppel plummeted straight down in the morning, falling 4.205% to SGD 12.53 by 10:48 AM; Sembcorp Industries fell 1.797% to SGD 6.01.
All three local banks had dropped over 1% by 10:50 AM, with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and DBS Group falling 2.1% and 2.05% respectively, while United Overseas Bank (UOB) dropped 1.65%

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The military actions of the United States and Israel against Iran have escalated, leading to a setback in global stock markets. The Singapore Straits Times Index opened down more than 2% on Monday. Local blue-chip stocks almost all fell, with only Olam International and Sembcorp Industries rising, the latter seeing a price increase of 1.705%. Gold prices rose due to the turbulent situation, with related stocks such as Zhongse Gold Mining rising over 12%

Zaobao

EFUND GOLD MI-R

EFUND GOLD MI-U

Sprott JR Gold Miners ETF

Sprott GLD Miners Etf

VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF

SPDR Gold Shares

iShares Gold Trust

Zijin Mining

EFUND GOLD MI ETF

ChinaAMC Gold ETF

Roundhill Gold Miners Weeklypay ETF

VanEck Gold Miners ETF

Newmont

ChinaAMC CSI SH-SZ-HK Gold Industry Equity ETF

ZIJIN MINING

Gold.com

iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners

Jinrui Mining

SD-GOLD

ZHONGJIN GOLD

Kinross Gold

Agnico Eagle Mines

FTSE Straits Times Index

The US-Iran conflict impacts the local stock market, with the Shanghai Composite Index nearly all declining, while defense and gold stocks rise against the trend | Lianhe Zaobao