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πΊπΈ U.S. Stocks – Weekly
Wrap
Market Overview
For the week ended 13 Feb 2026, U.S. equities finished lower as concerns around
artificial intelligence disruption and heavy tech positioning weighed on
sentiment. The technology‑heavy Nasdaq Composite(COMP) fell about
2.1%, marking the weakest performance among the major indexes, while the
S&P 500(SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) declined roughly 1.4%
and 1.2% respectively over the five‑day period.
In contrast, value and “old‑economy”
segments continued to show relative strength. The Russell 1000 Value Index
outperformed its growth counterpart for a seventh consecutive week, extending
its year‑to‑date lead to around 11 percentage
points, as investors stayed rotated into cyclicals and defensives. The S&P
MidCap 400 held up best among the major benchmarks, reinforcing the ongoing
broadening of market leadership beyond mega‑cap
tech. This week’s price action still points to rotation and repricing rather
than a material deterioration in underlying economic fundamentals.
(Refer to the major indices’ weekly
performance tables below.)
Major Indices – Weekly Performance
• Nasdaq Composite: −2.10%
• S&P 500: −1.39%
• Dow Jones: −1.23%
• S&P MidCap 400: −0.66%
• Russell 1000 Value vs Growth: +11.0% YTD outperformance
Leadership continues to tilt toward
value, cyclicals and selective mid‑cap exposure.
Key Highlights for the Week and Outlook
1️⃣ Retail sales stall
Recent retail‑sales data for late 2025 and early 2026 showed flat headline
spending and a slight decline in key control‑group components, suggesting
consumers are pausing after robust activity through most of 2025. Upcoming tax
refunds, real‑wage gains from falling inflation and still‑healthy employment
should help support household incomes into 2026, even if the pace of spending
normalises.
2️⃣ Labor market surprises to
the upside
January payrolls rose by 130k — the strongest monthly gain in over a year. The
unemployment rate declined to 4.3%. Private payroll growth also improved when
excluding federal job cuts, suggesting early signs of thawing after a weak 2025
hiring environment.
3️⃣ Rate cut expectations pushed
back
Stronger‑than‑expected
jobs data and still‑resilient activity led markets to scale
back the number and timing of Fed rate cuts priced for 2026. Futures now
reflect a higher probability that the Fed keeps its policy rate unchanged
through mid‑year, reinforcing a shift in narrative
from urgency to patience as officials emphasise a data‑dependent
approach.
4️⃣ Inflation cools gradually
Headline CPI slowed to 2.4% year-on-year, helped by declining energy prices.
Core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month and remains slightly elevated. Shelter
inflation is now showing clearer signs of moderation, which should help bring
overall inflation closer to target over time.
5️⃣ AI disruption fears trigger
tech repricing
While technology earnings and revenue growth remain solid, investors are
reassessing valuations amid aggressive AI‑related capital‑expenditure
plans and potential competitive disruption within and across key platforms.
Recent weakness in leading AI beneficiaries and high‑multiple
software names appears driven more by valuation compression and position
unwinds than by any meaningful deterioration in their near‑term
earnings outlooks.
S&P 500 Sectors in Focus
Six of 11 S&P 500 sectors finished
higher on the week, with defensive and “old‑economy”
pockets outperforming. Utilities (XLU) and Materials (XLB) led gains, while
Financials (XLF), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Technology (XLK) lagged
alongside the broader pullback in growth and rate‑sensitive
names.
Outperformers:
- Utilities
(XLU) – benefited from defensive inflows as volatility picked up.
- Materials
(XLB) – supported by stabilising commodity prices and global industrial
demand.
- Energy
(XLE) – helped by firm crude prices and solid cash‑flow generation.
Laggards:
- Financials
(XLF) – weighed by shifting rate‑cut expectations and a flatter curve.
- Consumer
Discretionary (XLY) – pressured by concerns about slower discretionary
spending and higher‑beta exposure.
- Technology
(XLK) – underperformed amid AI repricing, valuation compression and profit‑taking
in mega‑cap leaders.
(Refer to the SPX sector ETF weekly
performance table below.)
Technical Snapshot – Major U.S. Indices
- S&P
500 (SPX): Remains in an eight‑week
consolidation range, with this week’s decline taking prices back toward
the lower end of that band near recent support levels.
- Nasdaq
Composite (COMP): Came under heavier selling
pressure, slipping to its lowest level in roughly 12 weeks as large‑cap
tech and AI names corrected.
- Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI): Extended its prior breakout to
new record intraday highs early in the week but subsequently pulled back
below the closely watched 50,000 mark as profit‑taking set in.
π Weekly charts:
π¨π³ China / ππ°
Hong Kong Markets
Market Overview
China A‑shares ended the week modestly higher
ahead of Chinese New Year holidays. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.41%,
while the blue‑chip CSI 300 Index rose 0.36%. In Hong Kong, the Hang
Seng Index was little changed, eking out a gain of around 0.03% amid light pre‑holiday
liquidity.
- CSI 300: +0.36%
- Shanghai
Composite (SSE): +0.41%
- Hang
Seng Index (HSI): +0.03%
Markets in mainland China will be closed
for the CNY holidays from February 16 to February 23, resuming trading on
February 24. Hong Kong will trade for a half day on February 16, before closing
for the February 17 to February 19 holidays.
Key Highlights – China & Hong Kong
1️⃣ Consumer inflation eases;
producer deflation persists
China’s consumer price inflation moderated in January as the CPI rose 0.2% year‑on‑year,
down from 0.8% in December, reflecting base effects from last year’s earlier
holiday timing and a sharper drop in energy prices. Producer prices remained in
deflation for a 40th consecutive month, with the PPI down 1.4% year‑on‑year,
an improvement from a 1.9% decline in December, as global commodity prices
firmed and policy efforts to address overcapacity began to gain traction. The
backdrop underscores persistent disinflationary pressure in the absence of more
forceful stimulus.
2️⃣ Property market shows
tentative stabilisation
Official data indicated early signs of stabilisation in parts of China’s
property market, with the pace of price declines in the secondary market
slowing. Resale home prices across 70 major cities fell about 0.5% month‑on‑month
in January, the smallest drop in eight months, while new‑home
prices slipped 0.4% from December, matching the prior month’s pace. Recent
targeted easing measures and supportive credit policies appear to be cushioning
the downturn but have yet to trigger a clear, broad‑based
rebound.
3️⃣ Monetary easing into the
holidays
The People’s Bank of China reaffirmed its intention to maintain a “moderately
loose” policy stance in 2026 and signalled room for further reserve‑requirement‑ratio
and interest‑rate cuts if needed. Ahead of Lunar New
Year, the central bank injected additional liquidity into the banking system to
meet seasonal cash demand and to ensure smooth functioning of money markets.
4️⃣ Hong Kong stocks rise; AI race
intensifies
Hong Kong stocks opened the week firmer
as some earlier risk‑off sentiment faded and investors took
comfort from signs that producer‑price deflation is easing and
construction‑material oversupply pressures are
moderating. Mirroring trends in the U.S., competition within China’s AI
ecosystem is intensifying, with players such as Zhipu AI and ByteDance
reportedly accelerating the rollout of upgraded large‑language
models ahead of widely anticipated releases from rivals like DeepSeek,
underscoring a fast‑moving, highly competitive landscape.
Selected picks (MSSG):
- Kingdee
International Software (268 HK): Navigating the next phase of SaaS
adoption and profitability.
- Innovent
Biologics (1801 HK): Supported by strategic drug partnerships, including
collaborations with Eli Lilly.
- Nio
Inc. (9866 HK): Recently achieved its first‑ever quarterly operating
profit in 4Q25, helped by scale benefits and new model launches.
(Refer to the Hang Seng Index
constituents’ weekly performance table below.)
π Weekly charts:
πΈπ¬ Singapore Market –
Weekly Wrap
Market Overview
The Straits Times Index (STI) extended its winning streak to an eighth straight
week, inching up about 0.07% and setting another record close.
The index briefly traded above the 5,000 level for the first
time on an intraday basis before ending the week at 4,937.78, as a
late‑week pullback in heavyweight DBS trimmed gains.
Market Leaders
Outperformers:
- YZJ
Shipbuilding (BS6): +8.54% – rebounded after four
weeks of declines, with its primary uptrend intact as order‑book
visibility and sector sentiment remained supportive.
- Keppel
(BN4): +8.33% – continued to benefit
from optimism around energy, infrastructure and data‑centre‑related
earnings streams.
- Hongkong
Land (HKL / H78): +4.16% – gained on the back of
value‑oriented buying and interest in quality commercial property names.
Banks:
- DBS
(D05): −3.78% – fell on profit‑taking after a strong run, weighing on the
headline index.
- UOB
(U11): −0.08% – essentially flat, consolidating recent gains.
- OCBC
(O39): −0.57% – drifted modestly lower in line with broader financial‑sector
underperformance globally.
(Refer to the STI weekly performance
table below.)
Technical Snapshot – STI
The STI remains in a strong primary uptrend, but after eight consecutive weekly
advances the index is now short‑term overbought on several
momentum measures. A period of pullback or sideways consolidation would be
healthy at this stage, with any shallow dips toward prior breakout levels
likely to attract buying interest from investors seeking exposure to
Singapore’s bank, industrial and value leaders.
π Weekly chart:
Source: Some content and data are
excerpted from publicly available market reports. Please comment to claim
copyright ownership of any material, and it will be removed if necessary.
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