STI jumps 5.1% in Q1 as dividends lift total return to 5.6%

Amidst global market swings, the STI’s "income-defensive" nature proved to be its greatest asset.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 5.1% to 4,885.45 in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, with dividends lifting the total return to 5.6%.

According to SGX, dividends remained a key contributor to STI returns, underscoring the index’s income‑defensive characteristics amid global volatility.

By comparison, the FTSE APAC Index delivered 0.4% total return, and the FTSE World Index declined 3.0%. STI ETFs recorded their 13th consecutive month of net inflows, totalling $981m, ending Q1 with AUM of $4.2b.

“Across the capitalisation cohorts, performance was sector‑led: the FTSE ST Technology Index and FTSE ST Industrials Index generated total returns of 17.9% and 11.7%, respectively,” the group said.

“The FTSE ST Consumer Goods Index also emerged as a leader in Q1, posting a 13.6% total return,” it added.

The Industrials and Consumer Cyclicals Index also ranked with Telecommunications as the three Sectors that booked the highest net institutional inflow, whilst Technology ranked fifth highest in Q1.

Meanwhile, Singapore-listed Gold ETFs recorded their 22nd consecutive month of net inflows, with cumulative inflows reaching $2.2b since June 2024, including $243m of net new assets in March 2026. Monthly turnover exceeded $500m for the third straight month, with $532m traded in March.

Excluding REITs, the SMID ($100m to $10b) segment attracted close to $470m of net institutional inflow in Q1.

In total, 60 of around 240 SMIDs generated double-digit total returns during the period.

Follow the link for more news on

SGX

Straits Times Index

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia