SINGAPORE – Singapore’s three major banks saw their share prices drop this week. This followed DBS and UOB reporting lower-than-expected earnings and net interest margins for the third quarter ending Sept 30.
DBS closed on Nov 6 at $69.72, down 3.78% from Nov 2 when it opened at $72.46, as net profit for the quarter missed estimates and fell 5% to $2.81 billion due to lower market trading income amid unfavourable equity market conditions.
The group’s markets trading income sank 65% year on year to $152 million for the quarter because of weaker Asian asset performance, dislocated equity market volatility, rising interest rates towards the end of the third quarter, and a drop in volume.
The bank announced on Nov 5 that its chairman Peter Seah will retire at the end of 2026 after 16 years at the helm, with board member Anthony Lim taking over from Jan 1, 2027. Seah will be appointed senior adviser for a year.
UOB shares fell 10.27% over the week, closing at $36.83 from the week’s high of $41.10 on Nov 2.
The bank’s third-quarter net profit jumped 182% to $1.25 billion from a year earlier, on the back of strong growth in wealth, cards and loan-related activities.
The main contributors were a sharp decline in provisions for credit and other losses to $258 million from $1.36 billion, a 1% increase in net interest income to $2.28 billion and 19% growth in net fee income to $733 million.
Still, net profit was 15% lower than the previous quarter’s $1.48 billion and it missed the $1.38 billion consensus among analysts polled by Bloomberg.
OCBC saw a 4.28% drop during the week on its shares, closing on Nov 6 at $27.73 from a high of $28.97 on Nov 2.
This was despite net earnings going up 3% compared to a year ago to hit $2.04 billion, making it the bank’s second consecutive quarter in which the bank’s earnings exceeded $2 billion.
Its insurance arm Great Eastern, however, saw a 72% year-on-year drop for its third quarter net profit at $102.9 million, due to weaker investment valuations and a one-off loss from the partial divestment of its Indonesian subsidiary.
OCBC’s net profit for the first nine months of 2026 reached a record $6.24 billion, up 10% from the same period a year earlier.
Its group chief executive Tan Teck Long said on Nov 6 that the bank’s performance was underpinned by strong contributions from its wealth management and wholesale banking businesses as the group continued to execute its growth strategy.
The banks contributed to the Straits Times Index (STI) ending the week 2.2% or 117.08 points lower to close at 5,179.17 on Nov 6.
All STI counters fell, with the exception of SATS. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the decline, falling 6.5% to close at $4.35.
SATS hit by work pass concerns
Airport ground-handler SATS saw its share price fall about 3% to $3.54 after the market opened on Nov 3, after news broke on Nov 2 that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) was investigating 45 firms involved in Changi Airport operations for work pass offences.
MOM said it had identified around 270 workers employed by SATS’ contractors and sub-contractors whose deployment may not have complied with work pass regulations.
SATS responded on Nov 2 that it had identified work pass-related irregularities involving workers employed by some of its contractors during a routine internal audit, and that it took action against contractor companies that did not meet their contracted standards and obligations.
Some SATS employees have been temporarily redeployed and assigned others additional responsibilities to keep its Changi Airport operations running smoothly.
SATS’ share prices rebounded to close the week at $3.73 on Nov 6.
Grab’s beats third-quarter estimates, raises full-year guidance
Grab announced on Nov 3 that its third-quarter revenue rose 27% from a year ago to US$1.11 billion, or 30% on a constant currency basis. The group recorded its 19th consecutive quarter of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) growth to a record US$237 million.
The firm behind Southeast Asia’s leading superapp raised its full-year 2026 guidance as operating leverage continues to build across core segments. It now expects group revenue of $4.20 billion instead of $4.15 billion for 2026, and adjusted EBITDA of $800 million instead of $790 million.
Grab also returned capital to shareholders through a $400 million share buyback in September and October.
Grab’s share price on the Nasdaq rose to US$3.26 after the announcement on Nov 3, and climbed further to US$3.48 when markets closed on Nov 5. ((can update this to Nov 6 for print))
Midterm tech rout
The blue wave in the US midterm elections on Nov 5 triggered a steep plunge in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, wiping out an estimated US$2.5 trillion in market value amid fears that the Democrats’ win might lead to slower AI infrastructure spending.
The index plunged 1,421.52 points, or 5.52%, to close at 24,315.00 in the worst single-session drop since April 2025, when US President Trump announced his infamous global tariffs.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%, with much of the sell-off on Nov 5 in AI, semiconductor and tech stocks.
US analysts said the scale of the declines suggests further selling is expected, although tech and AI stocks rebounded slightly in the US on Nov 6.
On the STI, tech stocks – semiconductor-related stocks, in particular – also recorded steep drops. UMS Integration and Frencken fell 18.9% and 16.2%, respectively, over the week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 5.96% to close at 57,434.77 on Nov 6, more than a 20% drop from its peak in June.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 6.02% to close at 5,059.69 on Nov 6, with SK Hynix shares dropping 10.44% and Samsung Electronics losing 6.35%.
Divestments drive up Singpost’s profit
Singapore Post saw its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 hit $55.9 million, a 183.7% rise compared to a year before. This was largely driven by exceptional gains from property divestments, it said on Nov 6.
Share prices shot up by 6.9% after the result announcement, and closed the week at 31 cents.
Exceptional items of $44.4 million, compared with $13.9 million a year earlier, largely reflecting gains from the sale and leaseback of 10 Housing Board post office shophouses.
Revenue fell 1.3% from $188.4 million to $185.9 million, mainly due to lower international revenue amid a structural decline in letter mail volumes.
Earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations, excluding distributions to perpetual securities holders, rose to 2.24 cents from 0.63 cent a year ago.
SingPost chief executive Mark Chong told The Straits Times in a Nov 5 interview that mail volumes have declined some 40% from the Covid-19 pandemic period to 2024, but postal services remain necessary.
What to look out for next week
The US consumer price index inflation report for the month of October is expected to be released on Nov 10, following stronger employment numbers on Nov 6.
The US economy added 165,000 jobs in October, more than double analysts’ forecast of 65,000, while unemployment edged down to 4.1%.
Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC, said US monetary policy is primarily driven by jobs and inflation data.
“The futures market is expecting the Federal Reserve to hike rates in December, and we think there is a possibility of this happening as US inflation is still running above the Fed’s 2% target. “
Meanwhile, some listed companies are expected to move to ex-dividend dates, including Taka Jewellery Holdings, SIA Engineering Company, and DBS Group.
