DBS, OCBC shares climb to fresh highs on strong Q2 earnings; yen rally stalls: Markets this week

SINGAPORE, 10 AUGUST 2026 —

In this column, ST’s business correspondents unpack the latest developments in Singapore and global markets during the week – and explain what they mean for investors. DBS and OCBC raised their 2026 financial targets, while UOB kept its guidance largely unchanged. SINGAPORE – DBS and OCBC shares surged to record highs this week after the Singapore banks posted strong second-quarter results fuelled by their booming wealth management businesses, while UOB’s stock struggled to keep pace. OCBC shares crossed the $30 mark for the first time and closed 3.94 per cent higher at $30.30 on Aug 7. DBS Bank closed 3.07 per cent higher at a fresh peak of $76.33. UOB, however, ended down 0.23 per cent at $43.30. DBS will pay shareholders 81 cents a share , comprising a 66-cent ordinary dividend and a 15-cent capital return dividend, after net profit rose 9 per cent to $3.08 billion in the quarter on record wealth-management income. OCBC will pay a 47-cent dividend after its second-quarter profit jumped 22 per cent to $2.22 billion, while UOB will return 88 cents a share to shareholders as profit rose 10 per cent to $1.48 billion. Macquarie Capital head of ASEAN equity research Jayden Vantarakis noted that the bank’s 8-basis-point quarter-on-quarter net interest margin decline was the largest among the three banks. UOB’s new non-performing assets, or loans that turned problematic, hit $902 million in the second quarter, up 90 per cent year on year due to one real-estate account in Greater China. UOB noted that adequate provisions have been pre-emptively set aside to buffer against this exposure. The Japanese yen struggled to hold on to its recent sharp gains from a joint US-Japan currency intervention . The yen was around 157.80 per US dollar on Aug 7 after strengthening to 155.20 per US dollar on Aug 3, but remains stronger than a multi-decade low of about 164. The yen weakened against the Singapore dollar over the week, with one Singapore dollar buying about 123.44 yen on Aug 7. Several factors are weighing on the yen. Although the Bank of Japan has raised benchmark rates to their highest levels in decades, they remain low relative to those in the US and other major economies. That can encourage investors to borrow yen to invest in higher-yielding dollar assets, putting selling pressure on the Japanese currency. Markets are also wary of Japan’s massive debt burden, which exceeds 200 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), while its persistent budget deficits have fuelled concerns. Such fiscal strains can undermine confidence in Japanese assets and weigh on the yen. The Middle East conflict has also added pressure on the yen, with Japan heavily reliant on imported energy, and the region accounting for most of its oil supplies. Vincent Chung, co-portfolio manager for diversified income bond strategy at T. Rowe Price, said that the market generally expects intervention to slow the yen’s decline rather than produce a sustained recovery. For the yen to experience a more durable reversal, the Bank of Japan would likely need to bring forward its rate-hiking cycle, which could encourage Japanese investors to repatriate more overseas capital, said Chung in an Aug 5 note. Alternatively, a broader macroeconomic catalyst would need to emerge, he added. Over 900 million insider and employee shares were freed up for trading – the first in a series of restrictions scheduled to lift over the next few months. While SpaceX’s IPO was the largest in US history , it kept a tight public float with fewer than 5 per cent of its shares available for open market trading. The share price rebound followed an initial post-earnings slump, which saw SpaceX posting a net loss of US$541 million and AI infrastructure spending of US$15.8 billion for the second quarter of 2026. Nvidia shares rose 10.9 per cent over the week to US$223.96, Advanced Micro Devices gained 1.5 per cent to US$483.36 and Micron surged 6.41 per cent to US$877.57. OCBC executive director for wealth advisory Afdhal Rahman highlighted that recent earnings from Amazon, the largest AI cloud hyperscaler, showed that demand for AI infrastructure and services remains robust. He noted that AI adoption appears to be moving beyond experimentation and into real-world deployment, as enterprises increasingly use the technology to drive productivity gains and lower costs. “Taken together, these trends suggest that while periods of volatility are inevitable as markets reassess valuations and earnings expectations, the structural drivers underpinning the AI theme remain largely intact,” he said. Brent crude oil climbed more than US$1 to settle at US$83.55 a barrel on Aug 7, driven by ongoing market uncertainty over negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz . Oil prices fell earlier in the week as signs of progress in negotiations raised hopes of a possible resolution to the Middle East conflict, which had entered its sixth month. Meanwhile, gold prices surged above US$4,300 an ounce this week , after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September. Lower interest rates generally make gold more attractive because gold does not pay interest or dividends, reducing the opportunity cost of holding it relative to interest-bearing assets. UBS said in an Aug 7 report that it expects gold prices to reach US$5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2027, driven by potential Fed rate cuts, a softer US dollar, and steady central bank demand. However, the bank also said that the path to US$5,000 would not be smooth as near-term risks such as inflation or a more hawkish Fed rate path remain. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares jumped 6.9 per cent to close at $4.20 on Aug 7 after the shipbuilder posted strong first-half earnings a day earlier. Net profit for the period ended June 30 rose 28.4 per cent to 5.4 billion yuan (S$1.02 billion). This was mainly attributed to higher shipbuilding revenue from the progressive construction of vessels secured at higher contract prices and a favourable product mix which included ultra-large container ships and very large ethane… (AI-assisted rewrite, based on the original source)

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