DBS, OCBC at fresh highs as Singapore banks lead STI gains

[SINGAPORE] Shares of DBS and OCBC hit fresh records on Tuesday (Jun 2), as Singapore banks ranked among the top gainers of the Straits Times Index (STI) and drove the blue-chip barometer up 0.7 per cent to 5,070.78 points as at 1.26 pm.

DBS rose as much as 2.6 per cent or S$1.62 in early trade to S$64.46, before paring its gains to settle at S$64.09 as at 1.16 pm, up 2 per cent or S$1.25.

OCBC climbed as high as 2.4 per cent or S$0.55 to S$23.95, before receding to S$23.89, up 2.1 per cent or S$0.49.

UOB gained 2.2 per cent or S$0.83 to S$38.43, before retreating to S$38.14, up 1.4 per cent or S$0.54.

Other Singapore Exchange stocks that rallied on Tuesday were Sats , which rose 2.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$3.94, before easing to S$3.93, up 2.1 per cent or S$0.08; and Venture Corp , which advanced 2.1 per cent or S$0.38 to S$18.38, before settling at S$18.25, up 1.4 per cent or S$0.25.

The rally of Singapore shares mirrored gains abroad, as Wall Street stocks closed Monday higher amid ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations, where US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran would continue.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent to 51,078.88, the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to 7,599.96 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4 per cent to 27,086.81.

Closer to home, however, regional markets posted mixed results on Tuesday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.8 per cent and the Shenzhen Component Index was up 1.7 per cent.

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The gains also followed recent announcements by DBS and OCBC of plans to boost their wealth offerings.

DBS on Monday unveiled plans to launch 18 new and 36 upgraded Asia-Pacific wealth centres by end-2027, while OCBC’s private bank, Bank of Singapore, intends to sharpen its focus on ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Notably, the continued wealth momentum of local lenders was cited as a tailwind for the sector in a RHB report from last Thursday, where the brokerage upgraded its rating on the three Singapore banks to “overweight” from “neutral”.

RHB analysts also cited evolving rate expectations and resilient fee income generation as fuelling renewed investor interest in Singapore banks.