DBS, Genting Singapore and CapitaLand lead retail buys on SGX in March
The total value of stock buys that month lifts Q1 FY2026’s total retail net buying in local stocks to S$675 million
Add BT as a preferred sourceKoh Kim Xuan
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RETAIL investors bought a net S$638 million in Singapore stocks in March.
Counters in the financial services, real estate investment trusts (Reits) and consumer cyclicals sectors drove net buys, said the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in a note on Wednesday (Mar 25).
Local bank DBS, casino operator Genting Singapore and real estate firm CapitaLand Ascendas Reit were among the top stock purchases by retail investors in the 17 trading sessions up to Mar 24.
Stocks from the industrials and technology sectors such as Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and CSE Global, respectively, were also among the top 15 stocks favoured by retail investors.
The total value of local stock buys in March raised Q1 FY2026’s total retail net buying in local stocks to S$675 million.
The surge in retail demand follows a strong 2025, when retail investors accumulated S$2.6 billion of net buys in local stocks, said SGX.
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In Q1 FY2026, DBS had net retail inflows of around S$1.87 billion. Hospitality operator Genting Singapore recorded net retail inflows of S$119.4 million and CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, S$177.4 million.
Over the same period, institutional investors were net sellers of S$46 million in stocks, with market makers and active traders “bridging the gap” between net retail buying and net institutional selling, said SGX.
However, the top 15 stocks averaged a 7.9 per cent decline in total returns in March, compared to the 15 most net retail selling stocks averaging 3.2 per cent in total returns.
The difference highlights a “value-seeking bias” among Singapore retail investors, whose net buying is focused on “daily laggards over leaders”, said SGX.
The local bourse added that the contrast becomes “more pronounced” when ranking stocks by net retail flow relative to market capitalisation.
Among the 150 most traded stocks in the year to date, the 30 counters that recorded the highest net retail buying relative to market capitalisation averaged a 8.9 per cent decline in total returns. The 30 highest net retail selling stocks averaged 4.7 per cent in returns.
Separately, among Singapore-listed Reits, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit attracted the most retail buying in March, but recorded a 7.1 per cent decline in total returns.
On Tuesday, the Reit was on a trading halt after updating its manager portfolio rejuvenation strategy through acquisitions. It also announced a placement that is expected to add 5.5 per cent to CapitaLand’s share base.
Following the halt, Capitaland announced it had raised S$903.5 million in gross proceeds; of that sum, around S$600 million came from an oversubscribed private placement, and the remaining S$303.5 million from a preferential offering.
The placement attracted “strong participation” from new and existing unitholders, long-only funds, real estate specialists and private wealth and multi-strategy investors.
The proceeds will partly finance completed and pipeline acquisitions in Singapore, the US, Spain and Japan, with the assets ranging from logistics and business parks to data centres.
Part of the proceeds could go towards potential Singapore industrial and logistics acquisitions, transaction costs and general corporate purposes.
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