Temasek invested billions in US tech stocks before July market downturn

State investor Temasek Holdings of Singapore spent billions of dollars buying up stakes in US technology giants in the second quarter, just ahead of a sectorial decline in July.

Temasek lifted the value of its stakes in 11 large technology companies by $3.3 billion in the quarter ended June 30, based on an analysis of the two most recent 13F filings. The lion's share of that $3.2 billion went into six of those firms: Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Nvidia Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Amazon.com Inc.

By the end of July, however, most of those companies' stocks tumbled amid concern about the extent of AI-related gains and fears of a recession. Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc share prices have fallen about 12 per cent since the end of June, while Microsoft's are down around 7 per cent over that period.

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Many of the tech shares held by Temasek only started climbing this week, and it's not clear how much it invested since June 30. Depending on when the firm bought, it would have either made a profit, sold just before the plunge, or even bought more as it fell in an attempt to buy the dip. These purchases would have accounted for about 1 per cent of its S$389 billion total holdings, based on net portfolio value as of March 31.

The multi-billion buying binge underlines Temasek's commitment to plough more funds into the US. Last month, it said the US would be the biggest destination for its money; it has plans to invest $30 bn over the next five years.