OCBC shares continue record-breaking streak to hit S$18.95 as wealth unit shines

[SINGAPORE] OCBC shares surged further to another new high on Wednesday (Dec 3) after a record-breaking performance on Tuesday.

OCBC is supported by “outperformance in the wealth franchise, and the optionality of higher dividends in 2026”, said Jayden Vantarakis, the head of Asean equity research at Macquarie Capital. “We identified the stock as having room to close the gap with DBS.”

The counter touched S$18.95 in early morning trade on Wednesday and was changing hands at S$18.94 at 9.45 am.

Year to date, the stock has underperformed the benchmark Straits Times Index and its biggest company, DBS. But it’s been testing both since the beginning of November.

Singapore stocks have reached records this year on an influx of liquidity, with investors fleeing to the safe haven amid global trade tensions and the outlook for US Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The three largest banks including UOB, which account for about half of the benchmark index, have benefited from wealth-management and trading-fee income.

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“Wealth fees will drive revenue growth at Singapore’s three banks in 2026, building on their 34 per cent average increase so far this year with OCBC setting the pace,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sarah Jane Mahmud wrote in a note last month. BLOOMBERG