🦎 IGGY CLOSING BRIEF, 1 JULY 2026

🌆 First session of H2 2026. REITs told the clearest story.

The STI closed around 5,208, flat and unchanged from yesterday’s H1 finish. On the surface, stable. Underneath, rotation. Tech and energy provided mild support, while REITs broadly softened. CapLand IntCom T, CapLand Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Logistics Trust, MPACT, Keppel REIT, and KIT all ended lower or flat. Seven REIT/infrastructure names sat in the top twenty actives, mostly red. That lines up with Maybank trimming its STI target to 5,500 (from 5,600) on a 2% EPS downgrade driven by higher energy costs.

THREE MOVERS

Z74 SingTel, S$4.440 (+0.68%)

Strongest among my names, with >29m volume. Now trading ex-dividend. What matters is post-ex behaviour: holding up suggests underlying demand beyond yield capture. Ordinary yield sits just above 4%. Still below my hurdle and I remain cautious on income durability despite constructive price action.

C38U CapLand IntCom T, S$2.360 (-0.42%)

Second most active (~27m units). Price move is mild, but the yield profile is more nuanced than it looks. Two balance sheet metrics remain outside my retirement-grade thresholds. Full forensic breakdown is already up.

A17U CapLand Ascendas REIT, S$2.460 (-1.20%)

Third most active. A sharper decline on decent volume. Focus remains on overseas occupancy and balance sheet readings. One session does not define trend, but day-one H2 weakness is worth noting.

MACRO READ

REIT softness coincides with Maybank’s downgrade. Energy costs flow through indirectly via utilities and operating expenses, including data centres. Not immediate, but relevant. At index highs with limited yield spread, even small EPS downgrades matter.

END OF DAY

Flat index, soft REITs, first target cut of H2. Not alarming alone, but together they argue for discipline. This is not the phase to stretch for yield with high gearing or weak occupancy. The next key catalysts are REIT earnings, starting late July (CICT, Mapletree names).