UOB shares fall 3.8% after months of steady gains
DBS and OCBC also decline, but are much more modest at 0.6% and 1.3%, respectively
[SINGAPORE] Shares of UOB fell 3.8 per cent on Friday (Jul 17) after a steady rise since the end of April.
The counter retreated as much as S$1.66 to S$41.84 in the first few minutes of trading, reversing gains of about 21.6 per cent in the past two months.
Singapore’s two other banks – DBS and OCBC – also declined but were much more modest at 0.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
Shares of the three local banks surged to record levels the past week, helping lift the Straits Times Index to new highs.
The gains also helped DBS reach a milestone of S$200 billion in market capitalisation on Monday, making it the first Singapore-listed company to do so.
While analysts told The Business Times that the rally could have more room to run due to rising investor optimism ahead of the banks’ second-quarter results in August, Friday saw that bullish outlook somewhat tested.
Jayden Vantarakis, head of Asean equity research at Macquarie Capital, said: “We are entering an environment where we believe Singdollar rates will be supportive of improving net interest income alongside continued strength in non-interest income.”
With assistance from Tan Nai Lun
