💰 SGX Hits 17 Consecutive Gains: Follow Dividend Picks O39/U11/D05？

Tiger_Contra
07-23

💰 $Straits Times Index(STI.SI)$ hits 17 consecutive gains with the U.S. dollar weakening and the Singapore dollar strengthening.

💹 $ocbc bank(O39.SI)$/$UOB(U11.SI)$/$DBS(D05.SI)$: STI's core components that are showing an upward trend with reasonable current valuations.

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| New heights in a streak

Buoyed by strong inflows attracted to high-yield stocks, Singapore's benchmark index reached a historic high for the 17th consecutive trading day on Wednesday. The Straits Times Index climbed for the 17th straight day, setting a record for the longest consecutive gain, peaking at a 0.55% increase to 4,231.280 points. The rise in the index was driven by gains in the banking, telecommunications, and industrial sectors.

As the U.S. dollar weakened and the Singapore dollar strengthened, its safe-haven qualities became apparent. Since the beginning of 2025, the Singapore dollar has appreciated approximately 6% against the U.S. dollar, drawing increasing market attention for its safe-haven attributes. This is attributed to Singapore's robust institutional framework, solid economic fundamentals, and prudent fiscal policies, which provide stability for the Singapore dollar, allowing it to act as a "quasi-safe-haven" currency in Asia and emerging markets.

Looking ahead, in the context of rising global risks, the Singapore stock market has become a relatively safe asset, with ample liquidity, a resilient local currency, and low interest rates making dividend-yielding stocks particularly attractive. DBS Bank noted that low interest rates and a lack of alternative yield instruments are expected to support further gains in the Singapore market.

Local SGX-listed stocks remain popular due to their stability and dividends, with growing interest in local big banks: $ocbc bank(O39.SI)$/$UOB(U11.SI)$/$DBS(D05.SI)$.

| Market recap

On Tuesday, the three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed. The S&P 500 index rose slightly by 0.06%, setting a new high, while the Nasdaq index fell by 0.39%. Most large tech stocks declined, with $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ dropping over 2%, dragging down the tech sector's performance.

The meme stock sensation $Opendoor Technologies Inc(OPEN)$ surged at the open but reversed course, briefly triggering a trading halt, ultimately closing down over 10%. $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ rose more than 1% and is set to release its earnings report after the market closes on Wednesday.

China-concept stocks performed robustly overall, with $NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index(HXC)$ climbing 1.7%.

Megacaps - Earnings ahead

As of July 22, $Alphabet(GOOG)$ rose 0.65%, marking its 10th consecutive day of gains, the longest streak since 2010, driven by optimistic market sentiment regarding the company's position in the artificial intelligence sector. Notably, a monopoly ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to be announced in August.

Alphabet is scheduled to release its earnings report after the market closes on Wednesday, with analysts generally optimistic about its performance, expecting second-quarter revenue to reach $93.94 billion, a year-over-year increase of 10.86%, and an EPS of $2.18, up 15.24%. The company has enhanced advertising efficiency through AI technology, and the growth in YouTube users, along with OpenAI's use of its TPU chips, is providing new opportunities for its cloud business, which could drive stock prices higher. Despite facing antitrust sanction risks, the short-term bullish trend remains unchanged, with its capital expenditures signaling positive prospects for the U.S. data center sector, thus boosting market confidence and fostering the development of the AI ecosystem.

Asian markets

The Hong Kong stock market is entering a new phase of asset revaluation, with negative factors improving more rapidly, and the Hang Seng Index is expected to break new highs.

$HSTECH(HSTECH)$ dynamic price-to-earnings ratio is below the average since July 2020, indicating significant potential for recovery, while improving earnings from Chinese companies support the market. From 2025 to the present, IPO financing in the Hong Kong market has reached HK$107.1 billion, with refinancing amounts around HK$173.8 billion, both exceeding the total for 2024, and the total for the year is expected to surpass HK$190 billion and HK$310 billion.

IPO watch

Interest in $Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$ has waned, with BitGo poised to take the lead. According to public data, by the second quarter of 2025, BitGo had over $100 billion in crypto assets under custody, making it one of the few companies globally with "fully compliant + full-chain custody" capabilities.

Additionally, the globally renowned UI design giant $Figma(FIG)$ is expected to reignite interest in the IPO market, potentially surpassing CoreWeave to become the largest tech IPO of 2025. According to its IPO filings, Figma achieved $228 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, with a net profit of $45 million. Moreover, Figma mentioned "AI" 150 times in its prospectus, intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence.

| Dividend Plays

OCBC - Scheduled to report quarterly earnings on August 1

By the end of 2024, $ocbc bank(O39.SI)$ had total assets of S$625 billion, making it the second-largest financial services group in Southeast Asia. As Singapore’s longest-established bank, OCBC has operated for decades as an integrated financial services group consisting of Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, and Asset Management.

In 2024, the bank's total income rose by 7% to a record S$14.5 billion, driven by net interest income reaching an all-time high and solid growth in non-interest income.

For the third consecutive year, OCBC Group reported a record net profit, which increased by 8% over 2023 to S$7.59 billion, with a return on equity of 13.7%.

UOB - Scheduled to report quarterly earnings on August 7

In 2024, $UOB(U11.SI)$'s total assets reached S$538 billion, with annual operating income of S$14.3 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3%.

After acquiring Citigroup’s consumer banking business in 2023, the bank is in the process of integrating the Citigroup portfolio in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with plans for the Vietnam integration to be completed by 2025. The full integration of Citigroup’s consumer banking business across these four ASEAN markets is expected to boost the bank’s annualized revenue by $1 billion.

On July 18, 2025, UOB conducted a share buyback, repurchasing 200,000 shares for a total amount of S$7.3864 million, with share prices ranging between S$36.76 and S$37. Additionally, the company has repurchased a total of 4.06 million shares over the past 30 days, amounting to S$147 million.

DBS - Scheduled to report quarterly earnings on August 7

In 2024, $DBS(D05.SI)$ had total assets of S$827 billion, achieving revenue of S$22.3 billion and a net profit of S$11.4 billion, both setting historical highs. Its return on equity is 18.0%, among the highest in developed market banks.

DBS is the first Singapore listed company to surpass a market capitalization of $100 billion. The bank has made significant strides in customer service through AI technology, providing intelligent support to over 13 million customers and generating S$750 million in economic benefits across more than 370 application scenarios.

Confident in its stock price and committed to shareholder returns, DBS has spent hundreds of millions of Singapore dollars on buybacks. On July 11, 2025, DBS conducted a share buyback, repurchasing 350,000 shares for a total amount of S$16.1645 million, with prices ranging between S$45.79 and S$46.33. Furthermore, the company has repurchased a cumulative total of 700,000 shares in the past 30 days, amounting to S$31.4619 million.

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