SG Morning Brief｜Records on Intel Shock, Big Tech Week Ahead

Weekend Wrap

Wall Street ended last week on a high note as Intel's blowout earnings sent semiconductors on an 18-day winning streak and pushed Nvidia's market cap back above US$5 trillion. Geopolitical tone improved further on hopes of fresh US-Iran negotiations to extend the ceasefire. The setup for SGX this morning: a friendly tape from New York, but a heavy week ahead — four of the Magnificent 7 report on Wednesday, Apple on Thursday, plus the FOMC decision and US Q1 GDP and Core PCE.

US Overnight (Friday Close)

The S&P 500 rose +0.80% to 7,165.08 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped +1.63% to 24,836.60, both fresh record closes. The Dow lagged at -0.16% to 49,230.71, dragged by a few non-tech mega-caps. For the week, the S&P 500 gained +0.6%, the Nasdaq added +1.5%, and the Dow slipped -0.4% — a clear "tech leadership, value lag" tape.

Key Movers

Intel (INTC) +24% — Intel's best single-day performance since October 1987. Q1 EPS came in at $0.29 vs. $0.01 consensus, with revenue of $13.6B crushing estimates and Q2 guidance described as "robust." Management pointed to AI server demand finally lifting Xeon volumes after years of share loss to AMD. The shock rippled through the sector: AMD and Arm both surged about +14%, and the SOX semiconductor index extended its win streak to 18 straight sessions.

Nvidia (NVDA) +4.3% — Closed at $208.27, a record, putting market cap at US$5.08 trillion and reclaiming the world's-most-valuable title. The move was a sympathy bid on Intel's read-through that AI infrastructure demand remains broad, with hyperscaler capex commentary expected to dominate next week's prints from Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon.

MaxLinear (MXL) +57% — Beat Q1 estimates and raised its 2026 optical data center revenue target to $150M-$170M, a small-cap reminder that the AI infrastructure trade is broadening beyond the megacaps. Organon (OGN) +29.7% on a reported $13B Sun Pharma takeover approach was the other notable single-name, though less relevant to SG investors.

The tone-setter for the day was geopolitical: an extension to the US-Iran ceasefire and reports of restarted talks helped risk appetite, even as the Dow's slip showed the gains were narrow.

SGX Preview

The STI closed Friday at 4,922.86, -0.43% (-21.25 pts), weighed by non-energy minerals, tech services and consumer durables. The index has been digesting recent record runs led by the local banks. Specific Friday closing levels for DBS, OCBC and UOB were not available in our data feed at print time, but the broader picture going into the week is well-known: OCBC has been the standout of the trio in 2026, hitting an all-time high of S$22.83 on April 2 and pushing market cap above S$100B for the first time, helped by Great Eastern insurance income that more than doubled YoY in 4Q25. DBS has been a relative laggard after guiding 2026 net profit "slightly below" 2025 on rate headwinds, while UOB trimmed its fee-growth outlook. Bank earnings season starts in early May, and positioning into those prints — combined with the FOMC on Wednesday — will be the dominant local story this week.

Asia Pre-Market

US futures pointed modestly higher overnight, with S&P 500 e-minis around 7,195 (+0.7% extension from Friday's cash close) and Nasdaq futures firmer, though specific Monday Asia-session moves were thin in available data. WTI crude is around US$94/bbl, still elevated on Iran headlines despite the ceasefire extension. Gold is trading roughly US$4,700+/oz after a volatile April that saw highs above $4,850. Bitcoin is hovering near the US$80,000 mark. Net read for SGX: a constructive setup from the US, but oil staying above $90 keeps energy and inflation-linked names in focus, and gold's strength signals investors aren't fully unwound on hedges into a Fed week.

This Week's US Earnings & Economic Calendar

Earnings Spotlight: Microsoft (Wed post-market). Consensus is $4.05 EPS on roughly US$81.4B revenue, implying ~17% EPS growth. The number that matters: Azure constant-currency growth and any change to capex guidance — every commentary line gets read across to NVDA, AVGO, and the broader AI infrastructure complex. Stacked on the same evening as the FOMC decision (rate held expected, but dot plot and Powell's tone on cuts will set the curve) and 12 hours before US Q1 GDP and Core PCE — that's the highest-stakes 24 hours of the quarter.

One More Thing

The setup into this week is asymmetric. Indices are at records, semis are on an 18-day streak, and four of the Magnificent 7 report after Wednesday's close — meaning a week that's already pricing in good news has to deliver good news. Watch capex guidance more than EPS beats: that's where the AI capex bull case lives or dies. For SG investors, the cleanest read-through is to your local bank exposure into Fed week — a dovish Powell helps net interest margins less than the market sometimes assumes, and OCBC/DBS/UOB results land into that backdrop in early May.

This briefing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.