Singapore, Jan 6, 2026, 17:53 SGT — Market closed
- Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed up 1.27% at a record 4,739.97.
- Bank heavyweights led gains as risk appetite stayed firm across Asia.
- Investors are watching U.S. jobs data on Friday and the path of rate cuts.
Singapore shares ended higher on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) closing up 59.47 points, or 1.27%, at a record 4,739.97.
The rally matters now because it extends an early-2026 momentum trade that has pushed the benchmark above 4,700 points, a level it had not previously held. It also reinforces a key theme for the local market: banks, which carry heavy weight in the index, can still pull the broader tape even as investors debate how fast interest rates will fall.
The STI traded between 4,693.28 and 4,744.67, and turnover was 220.25 million shares, data showed.
Banks set the pace in the session. DBS rose as much as 2.2% to a record S$57.92, while OCBC touched S$20.19 — its first move above the S$20 mark — in late morning trade, The Business Times reported.
Policy support and yield demand remain central to the bull case. “The Singapore market will continue to attract fund flows,” Adrian Loh, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian, was quoted as saying, pointing to “defensive” blue chips — large, established companies whose earnings tend to hold up better when growth slows — and their dividends. The Business Times
OCBC’s head of equity research Carmen Lee called the backdrop for 2026 “constructive,” citing a benign global outlook and steady regional trade flows. She added that banks are expected to post “stable earnings,” even as margins cool. The Business Times
But the same rate outlook that typically supports equity valuations can cut the other way for lenders. Macquarie Equity Research warned the banking sector could be a drag as falling rates pressure revenue, calling 2026 “a year for ‘stock pickers’,” and said banks may be “treading water” as the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) — a benchmark for floating-rate loans — heads lower. The Business Times
Singapore’s move came as Asian equities extended a broader risk rally, taking cues from Wall Street, where the Dow hit an all-time peak, Reuters reported. “Geopolitical concerns seem likely to persist in 2026,” Yusuke Matsuo, a senior market economist at Mizuho Securities, wrote, even as risk assets hold up. Reuters
Next up, investors will focus on the U.S. monthly employment report due Friday (Jan. 9) and whether it shifts expectations for the pace of Federal Reserve rate cuts, a key input for bank margin assumptions and dividend trades in Singapore.
