Sprint By Spring: The Top 骏马s
Introduction
The year 2026 has just started and some 'horses' have already galloped much afar. While the large-caps such as Banks/SingTel/STE are holding up STI, the big percentage gainers are in the smaller caps with multiple counters gaining 30%, 50%, or even over 100% in just eight weeks.
Gold-linked names such as CNMC Goldmine have surged alongside rising bullion prices. Semiconductor and AI hardware suppliers like AEM Holdings are riding renewed global capex momentum. Infrastructure and energy engineering players including Civmec and Lincotrade & Associates are benefiting from visible orderbooks and regional capex cycles.
At the same time, some speculative microcaps have posted triple-digit gains, such as Acma - a name familar to investors around the last century.
In 2026, porfolio out-performace will depend even more on sharper stock selection than before.
Hence, this article tries to have a glimpse of the year ahead, by taking stock of the Top 50 SGX performers from January to February 2026. In a further article, we will look at porfolio adjustments based on the findings. In short, it is to also get a feel whether the headstarts can be a predictor of 2026 out-performance.
The table below ranks the performer by percentage gain to date. These performers are classified by sectors of Gold, Construction, Property, O&G, AI, Speculatives, and Others. A column for the likely reason for out-performance is included based on categories like sector momentum, thematic flows, earnings catalysts, restructuring plays, and market narrative trends. Data is from public sources, so do your own accuracy validation.
🏆 SGX Top Performers (Jan–Feb 2026)
| # | Symbol | Name | Perf% | Sector | Likely Reason for Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5RE.SI | Asia Vets | 172 | Speculatives | Low-float penny surge, trading momentum, retail speculation |
| 2 | AYV.SI | Acma | 99 | Others (Industrial) | Turnaround story, improved margins |
| 3 | 5WJ.SI | MoneyMax Fin | 87 | Gold | Gold price spike boosting pawn & gold trading margins |
| 4 | 5UF.SI | Aspial Lifestyle | 70 | Gold | Jewellery demand + gold price rally |
| 5 | TDED.SI | Delta TH SDR 1to1 | 69 | AI | AI infra / data center thematic spillover |
| 6 | 5TP.SI | CNMC Goldmine | 68 | Gold | Direct leverage to rising gold prices |
| 7 | 504.SI | HS Optimus | 67 | Speculatives | Corporate restructuring speculation |
| 8 | AWX.SI | AEM SGD | 67 | AI | Semiconductor test demand linked to AI chips |
| 9 | EMI.SI | Emperador Inc. | 64 | Others (Consumer) | Defensive rotation, earnings resilience |
| 10 | 41B.SI | Huationg Global | 64 | Construction | Infrastructure contracts momentum |
| 11 | 42L.SI | Taka Jewellery | 62 | Gold | Retail gold play amid bullion surge |
| 12 | BFT.SI | Lincotrade | 56 | Construction | Civil engineering order wins |
| 13 | E28.SI | Frencken | 52 | AI | Precision engineering for AI equipment |
| 14 | FQ7.SI | Salt Investments | 50 | Speculatives | Micro-cap trading surge |
| 15 | Q0X.SI | Ley Choon | 50 | Construction | Utility & infra backlog growth |
| 16 | 5AE.SI | Pollux Prop | 50 | Property | Property asset monetisation story |
| 17 | KUO.SI | Intl Cement | 50 | Construction | Regional infrastructure demand |
| 18 | 5IC.SI | SingHoldings | 50 | Property | Singapore residential recovery |
| 19 | BDU.SI | Federal Int | 48 | Others (Auto) | Consumer rebound |
| 20 | ITS.SI | Info-Tech | 45 | AI | HR tech digitisation growth |
| 21 | 42Z.SI | Eindec | 44 | Construction | Industrial engineering contracts |
| 22 | 5VC.SI | Kori | 43 | Construction | Semiconductor facility projects |
| 23 | 1MZ.SI | NamCheong | 41 | O&G | Offshore vessel demand recovery |
| 24 | PCT.SI | PC Partner | 40 | AI | GPU demand from AI hardware |
| 25 | BTM.SI | Penguin Intl | 40 | O&G | Offshore patrol vessel demand |
| 26 | AWK.SI | Fuxing China | 38 | Speculatives | China reopening narrative |
| 27 | BTG.SI | HG Metal | 38 | Construction | Steel demand from infra cycle |
| 28 | S71.SI | Sunright | 38 | AI | Semiconductor equipment cycle |
| 29 | 5G9.SI | Tritech | 37 | Construction | Water infrastructure contracts |
| 30 | N01.SI | NeraTel | 36 | AI | Govtech & cybersecurity projects |
| 31 | 42C.SI | IX Biopharma | 35 | Speculatives | Biotech pipeline news |
| 32 | 5SY.SI | OneApex | 34 | Speculatives | Corporate restructuring |
| 33 | BQF.SI | XMH | 34 | O&G | Marine & offshore servicing recovery |
| 34 | F03.SI | Food Empire | 33 | Others (Consumer) | Strong earnings + export growth |
| 35 | BWM.SI | Zheneng Jinjiang | 33 | Others (Utilities) | Power tariff strength |
| 36 | P34.SI | Delfi | 32 | Others (Consumer) | Margin expansion |
| 37 | STG.SI | Sri Trang Gloves | 32 | Others (Healthcare) | Glove ASP stabilisation |
| 38 | 5JK.SI | Hiap Hoe | 32 | Property | Asset revaluation speculation |
| 39 | 5UL.SI | Atlantic Nav | 31 | O&G | Offshore charter rate recovery |
| 40 | A31.SI | Addvalue Tech | 30 | AI | Satellite connectivity + defence contracts |
| 41 | U14.SI | UOL | 30 | Property | SG residential + China stabilisation |
| 42 | BKZ.SI | Suntar Eco-City | 30 | Property | China property rebound speculation |
| 43 | H22.SI | Hong Leong Asia | 30 | Construction | Building materials cycle |
| 44 | P9D.SI | Civmec | 29 | O&G | Energy & mining capex recovery |
| 45 | BJZ.SI | Koda | 29 | Others (Consumer) | US furniture demand |
| 46 | BQM.SI | Tiong Woon | 29 | Construction | Heavy lift infra demand |
| 47 | 1U8.SI | RichCapital | 28 | Property | Asset restructuring story |
| 48 | Y35.SI | AnAn Intl | 28 | Speculatives | Illiquid microcap trading |
| 49 | 544.SI | CSE Global | 28 | O&G | Energy automation projects |
| 50 | A30.SI | Aspial Corp | 27 | Gold | Jewellery + gold tailwind |
🔎 Macro Pattern Observations (Jan–Feb 2026)
1️⃣ Gold Cluster is Strong
Gold-related names (CNMC, MoneyMax, Taka, Aspial Group) surged — suggesting:
- Bullion strength
- Safe haven flows
- Retail physical demand spike
2️⃣ Construction & Infra is Dominant
Singapore infra cycle + regional projects are lifting:
- Huationg
- Lincotrade
- Ley Choon
- Kori
- Tiong Woon
This indicates domestic capex rotation.
3️⃣ AI / Semiconductor Plays
AEM, Frencken, PC Partner, Sunright, Addvalue, NeraTel
→ AI infra capex theme remains intact.
4️⃣ O&G Recovery Cluster
NamCheong, Civmec, Atlantic Nav, XMH
→ Energy capex cycle revival.
5️⃣ Heavy Speculative Activity
Several illiquid microcaps up 30–170%
→ Liquidity + retail rotation into small caps.
📊 Sector(Stables) Breakdown Count
- Construction: 11
- Gold: 6
- AI / Tech: 8
- Property: 7
- O&G: 6
- Speculatives: 7
- Others: 5
1️⃣ Sector(Stables) Ranking by Average % Gain
From dataset:
| Sector | No. of Stocks | Avg % Gain | Leadership Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 6 | 64% | 🔥 Strongest |
| Speculatives | 7 | 56% | 🔥 High-beta retail |
| Construction | 11 | 46% | Broad participation |
| AI / Tech | 8 | 44% | Thematic driven |
| O&G | 6 | 35% | Early cycle |
| Property | 7 | 35% | Asset rotation |
| Others | 5 | 34% | Mixed |
Key Insight:
This is a risk-on small/mid cap rally, led by:
- Gold (macro hedge + momentum)
- Speculatives (liquidity surge)
- Domestic infrastructure names
🎯 Strategic Conclusion
This is a liquidity + macro beta rally, not yet earnings broad-based.
The strongest clusters:
- Gold
- Construction
- AI hardware
The weakest foundation:
Speculative microcaps.
The strongest cross-macro alignment right now appears to be:
Gold + AI hardware + Energy automation
In addition, in view of global uncertainty and volatility due to the 'astro-physics' of the Fire Horse element, it is crucial to avoid consumer-facing themes in 2026, imo. Even strong franchise or brand names such as Sheng Siong can at most give stable performances but not super returns.
For instance, in this same period, a sampling of gains of stocks that have consumer touch-points shows returns of:
Raffles Edu: 9.0%
Kimly: 5.0%
Sheng Siong: - 0.0%.
GHY Culture: -2.0%
Soup Holdings: -5.0%
FJ Benjamin: -9.0%
Tung Lok Rest: -10.0%
Japan Foods: -23.0%
The oil producers are also not doing well(current uptick is not strong even though there are Iran worries; though before the Monday open after the weekend attack by US/Israel on 28 Feb):
RH PetroGas: 5.0%
Rex Intl: 1.0%