Singapore Stocks Open Slightly Higher on 2 December 2025 as Rate-Cut Hopes Support STI Near Record Levels

Singapore’s stock market opened the new month on a cautiously upbeat note on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, with the Straits Times Index (STI) edging higher at the opening bell even after some analysts warned that the recent rally could be running out of steam.

At 9:16 am, the STI was up 3.32 points, or 0.07%, at 4,529.54, with gainers outnumbering losers 109 to 84 on turnover of about 129 million shares worth S$157 million. ^[1]

That early move keeps the benchmark index hovering close to its recent record territory around the 4,530–4,560 band, underpinned by Singapore’s big banks, high-yield blue chips and a steady stream of positive corporate catalysts.

How the Singapore Stock Market Opened Today

The early session tone on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) was mildly positive rather than euphoric.

Index level at the open: By 9:16 am, the STI stood at 4,529.54, up 0.07% from Monday’s close of 4,526.22. ^[2]
Market breadth: 109 stocks rose versus 84 that fell, indicating a gently risk‑on bias despite a soft lead from Wall Street. ^[3]
Liquidity: Early turnover of S$157.12 million suggested healthy participation, consistent with recent sessions around the index’s all‑time highs. ^[4]

Banks and large-cap blue chips again set the tone, keeping the STI firm even as some global indices paused after a strong late‑November run.

While the open was only a fractional gain, it defied overnight commentary from RTT News, which had cautioned that the Singapore rally “may stall” on Tuesday after four straight days of gains and a weak US session. ^[5]

Key Movers at the Opening Bell

1. Banks: OCBC at a Record, DBS and UOB Nudge Higher

Bank stocks — which together make up roughly half of the STI — provided much of the early support.

DBS traded around S$54.18 at the open, up about 0.14%.
UOB was quoted near S$34.29.
OCBC changed hands around S$18.74 in early trade. ^[6]

Later in the morning, OCBC shares went on to hit a fresh record high, gaining as much as 0.6% intraday, as analysts highlighted outperformance in its wealth-management franchise and the possibility of higher dividends in 2026. Macquarie’s Asean equity research head pointed to OCBC’s “room to close the gap with DBS,” while Bloomberg Intelligence flagged wealth fees as a key revenue driver for all three local banks next year. ^[7]

The strong showing for OCBC dovetails with The Smart Investor’s analysis of November’s top blue-chip performers, where OCBC delivered an 8.1% total return for the month on the back of record wealth-management income and resilient loan growth despite net interest margin compression. ^[8]

2. Singtel and Genting Singapore: Yield and Recovery Themes

Telecom and gaming names also featured in early trading:

Singtel ticked up to about S$4.68 at the open, extending a solid November in which it returned roughly 12% including dividends, supported by strong half-year earnings and aggressive asset-recycling. ^[9]
Genting Singapore traded around S$0.755 in early deals, staying near levels highlighted in recent research as attractive for income investors, with a forward dividend yield north of 5%. ^[10]

Fresh analysis published on 2 December notes that Genting Singapore offers a 5%+ yield on a cash‑rich balance sheet, with consensus 12‑month target prices clustering around S$0.88–S$0.95 — roughly 20–25% above current levels. Much of the upside narrative hinges on the multi‑year Resorts World Sentosa 2.0 expansion and a newly secured New York casino licence at the wider Genting group level, which could increase the strategic value of Genting Singapore’s cash and dividends. TS2 Tech+1

3. Marine & Cyclical Names: Marco Polo Marine Jumps

Outside the STI, Marco Polo Marine was one of the morning’s standout movers. By 9:22 am, its shares had climbed 7.5% to S$0.129, with over 40 million shares changing hands — a surge driven by a 348% jump in second-half net profit and bullish broker upgrades. ^[11]

Analysts at RHB raised their target price and highlighted strong margins, impairment reversals and a promising order pipeline, underscoring investor appetite for cyclical growth stories linked to offshore energy and marine logistics.

4. Transport and Shipbuilding: ComfortDelGro and YZJ in Focus

Early flows also favoured:

ComfortDelGro, which saw buying interest around S$1.44, reflecting sustained interest in defensive transport and mobility names. ^[12]
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (YZJ), trading near S$3.30 after a tough Monday session where it was singled out as one of the STI’s weakest performers. A Straits Times/Biz Times wrap on 1 December flagged YZJ as the worst STI name that day, falling about 2.1%, even as the broader index inched higher. ^[13]

This rotation suggests some investors are selectively bargain‑hunting cyclicals that lagged in the late‑November rally.

Regional and Global Backdrop: Fed Bets vs Wall Street Weakness

Tuesday’s open in Singapore cannot be read in isolation — it came against a mixed but generally supportive global backdrop.

Overnight in New York, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed modestly lower as investors took profits after a strong rebound from early‑November losses and as US Treasury yields climbed. ^[14]

Despite that weak lead, Asian markets resumed their recent rally on Tuesday. A midday regional wrap from The Business Times reported gains across Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington, with investors focusing on rising odds of further US interest rate cuts in 2026 and beyond. ^[15]

That macro narrative is echoed in local trading commentary:

Fed funds futures and popular tools like the CME FedWatch‑style dashboards show probabilities in the 80–90% range for a 25‑basis‑point cut at the US Federal Reserve’s December meeting. ^[16]
Singapore strategists at Phillip Securities, quoted in a Straits Times article on Monday’s session, expect the STI to trade largely sideways until that Fed decision on 10 December, with employment data, Powell’s speech and core PCE inflation shaping expectations. ^[17]

In short, rate‑cut optimism is cushioning equities, even as short‑term moves remain vulnerable to swings in yields and data surprises.

Fresh Forecasts and Analyses Dated 2 December 2025

Beyond the tape action, 2 December brought a flood of stock‑specific and market‑wide research that helps frame where the Singapore market may go next.

1. Short-Term Market Outlook: Rally “May Stall” but Still Supported

RTT News’ pre‑market commentary on Monday night warned that the STI’s four‑session run — adding around 0.9% and taking the index just above 4,525 points — could stall on Tuesday as Asian markets digested Wall Street’s pullback. ^[18]

In reality, the STI opened slightly higher and, by early afternoon, was quoted around 4,535–4,536, roughly 0.2% up on the day according to delayed quotes from MarketWatch and Yahoo Finance. ^[19]

TradingEconomics, tracking end‑of‑day levels, shows the STI around 4,533 points on 2 December, about 0.1–0.2% higher than Monday’s close — a modest gain but enough to keep the index near its recent record highs. ^[20]

Taken together, the message from technical and short‑term macro forecasters is:

Uptrend still intact.
Momentum slowing at elevated index levels.
Day‑to‑day direction heavily tied to US data and Fed rhetoric.

2. SGX (S68): Exchange Stock Seen as “Quality Hold” With Structural Upside

A detailed, same‑day note on Singapore Exchange (SGX:S68) describes the bourse operator as a “high‑quality, moderately‑growing compounder” riding multiple structural catalysts:

A new Nasdaq–SGX Global Listing Board, announced in November, aims to simplify dual listings for S$2 billion‑plus companies between Singapore and the US, potentially boosting listing pipelines and trading volumes from mid‑2026 onwards. TS2 Tech
MAS’s Equities Market Development Programme and SGX’s shift toward a more disclosure‑based listing regime are designed to revive a market that had fallen to a 20‑year low in listed company count. TS2 Tech
AI and quant models tracked by TipRanks assign SGX an “Outperform” rating with an algorithmic 12‑month price target around S$20, implying high‑teens upside from current levels near S$16.80. Traditional analysts, by contrast, cluster around a Hold rating with only 3–4% upside on average. TS2 Tech+1

For investors watching the index itself, SGX’s ability to draw new listings and products is a medium‑term driver of STI depth and liquidity.

3. Genting Singapore (G13): High Yield, Optional Upside From New York

Updated research on Genting Singapore (published 2 December) highlights:

A forward dividend yield of roughly 5.2–5.3%, based on two S$0.02 payouts in 2025 and a share price around S$0.75–0.76. TS2 Tech
Consensus 12‑month target prices between S$0.88 and S$1.00, implying roughly 20–26% upside if the company can execute on its Resorts World Sentosa 2.0 plan and benefit indirectly from the group’s newly won New York casino licence. TS2 Tech+1
A balance sheet in net cash, with EV/EBITDA around 7x and P/B near 1.1x — not deep value, but seen as reasonable for a quasi‑monopoly integrated resort asset. TS2 Tech

Analysts broadly see Genting Singapore as a yield‑plus‑growth play, though they flag competition from Marina Bay Sands, execution risk on capex and group‑level capital allocation as key watch‑points.

4. Hongkong Land (H78): Deep Discount Value Play Within the STI

Another 2 December analysis focuses on Hongkong Land Holdings, one of Monday’s top STI gainers after a 3.5% jump driven by aggressive share buybacks. ^[21]

Key takeaways include:

The stock trades at roughly 0.45–0.50x book value, with a 45–50% discount to its US$13.62 NAV per share as of June 2025. TS2 Tech
DBS and Morningstar both rate the stock a Buy, with price targets in the high‑US$6 to US$7 range, while consensus data from one retail platform (Growbeansprout) shows a more cautious stance, highlighting potential downside to about US$4.90. TS2 Tech
Technical models like StockInvest flag a positive short‑term setup for 2 December, citing a fair opening price of S$6.50 and a projected trading range of S$6.50–6.64, backed by bullish moving-average signals. TS2 Tech

For STI watchers, Hongkong Land remains a leveraged bet on a slow‑healing Hong Kong office and China property cycle, with buybacks providing a floor but earnings still under pressure.

5. Sector and Stock Ideas: REITs, Infrastructure and Logistics in Focus

Fresh thematic pieces released on 1–2 December highlight where local investors may rotate capital next:

The Smart Investor’s “3 Blue-Chip Stocks to Watch for December 2025” picks CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Keppel Ltd and Mapletree Logistics Trust, emphasising capital recycling, asset monetisation and logistics demand as core long‑term themes. ^[22]
A separate piece on “3 Blue-Chip Stocks that Beat the STI for November 2025” singles out Singtel, Jardine Matheson and OCBC for delivering superior total returns through strong earnings and disciplined portfolio management. ^[23]

These ideas reinforce a broader pattern: cash‑generative, asset‑backed names with visible dividends remain the preferred hunting ground for local investors as the STI trades near record highs.

Domestic Sentiment: Hiring Freezes and Wage Moderation Signal Caution

While equity prices look buoyant, real‑economy sentiment is more mixed.

A new Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) poll released on 2 December paints a cautious picture:

72% of employers report an “uncertain” business outlook for the current year, up from 58% in 2024.
Nearly 58% plan to freeze headcount in 2026, with small firms particularly likely to halt hiring.
About 48% expect to moderate wages or implement wage freezes in the coming financial year, 10 percentage points higher than in FY2025. ^[24]

Yet there are offsets:

96% of employers who hire lower‑wage workers still plan to provide built‑in pay increases.
Around one‑third of firms still intend to increase hiring, and many are investing in training and upskilling despite cost pressures. ^[25]

For the stock market, this combination suggests:

Short‑term support for defensive yield names, particularly REITs, utilities and consumer staples, as investors look for income and resilience.
A more challenging backdrop for highly cyclical sectors tied to domestic consumption and discretionary spending if wage growth slows.

What Today’s Open Means for Retail Investors

With the STI hovering around 4,530 at the open and edging toward 4,535–4,540 by midday, the Singapore stock market today looks like a classic case of “cautious optimism” at elevated valuations.

Key themes emerging from 2 December’s open, forecasts and research:

Banks still anchor the market.
OCBC’s record high and continued strength in DBS and UOB underline how much the STI relies on wealth‑management and fee income from the financial sector. Investors expecting further rate cuts will need to watch carefully how that affects margins versus fee growth. ^[26]
Yield plus catalysts remain in favour.
Genting Singapore, Hongkong Land, blue‑chip REITs and SGX itself all offer combinations of yield, structural catalysts (like the Nasdaq tie‑up or New York licence) and capital‑return stories (buybacks, dividends). TS2 Tech+2TS2 Tech+2
Valuations are no longer cheap.
Several analyses note that SGX trades at a premium to global exchange peers, while the STI as a whole is near all‑time highs after a 2.2% gain in November and a strong rebound from earlier in 2025. Stock picking — rather than buying the index blindly — is becoming more important. TS2 Tech+1
Macro risk is central.
The December Fed meeting, US labour data and inflation readings are likely to drive short‑term swings. Local surveys showing cautious hiring and wage plans add a domestic layer of uncertainty to the otherwise upbeat index picture. ^[27]

For retail investors, the takeaway from today’s open is not that the Singapore stock market is overheated or about to correct, but that selectivity and time horizon matter more than ever:

Income‑oriented investors may continue to favour banks, Genting Singapore, high‑quality REITs and SGX for their dividends and defensive characteristics.
Growth‑oriented investors might look at names like Marco Polo Marine, logistics and industrial REITs, and capital‑recycling conglomerates such as Keppel — but with careful attention to valuation and balance‑sheet strength. ^[28]

As always, all of the above is information, not personalised financial advice. Market conditions can change rapidly, and readers should consider their own risk tolerance, time horizon and financial situation — and seek professional advice where appropriate.

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