IAE

• STI at a four-month low: the index closed at 5,269.29 on Tuesday (-0.65%), its lowest since July, as the three banks slid further ahead of results.
• Bank earnings begin today: UOB reports Q3 on Nov 4, DBS on Nov 5 and OCBC on Nov 6.
• US overnight: Nasdaq +0.8% and S&P 500 +0.4% on Election Day, while the Dow slipped 0.4%.
• AMD after hours: the chipmaker jumped about 9% on a Q3 beat and Q4 guidance above the Street.
• Today's data: US ADP jobs and ISM Services PMI land after the SGX close; nonfarm payrolls due Friday.

Singapore Open

The STI fell 0.65% to 5,269.29 on Tuesday, extending a slide that began Monday, when the benchmark dropped 1.4% to 5,303.84 at midday. The index is now down about 7% over the past month, well off its early-September record close of 5,801.96, with the three banks — roughly 60% of the index's weight — doing much of the damage. On Monday, $OCBC (O39.SG)$ led the declines at -3.7% to S$28.22, while $DBS (D05.SG)$ fell 2.5% to S$71.31 and $UOB (U11.SG)$ shed 2.2% to S$40.48, and selling continued Tuesday. The trio has shed roughly S$22 billion in value over the past week as rising yields and looming bond-portfolio losses spooked investors.

$UOB (U11.SG)$ reports Q3 today, kicking off the season; $DBS (D05.SG)$ follows on Nov 5 and $OCBC (O39.SG)$ on Nov 6. Maybank Research sees UOB's Q3 profit at S$1.2-1.3 billion — roughly triple last year's S$443 million but still about 15% below the second quarter, a reminder that the year-on-year jump flatters a weak base. Analysts are watching net interest margins, wealth fees and credit costs. A 72% drop in Great Eastern's Q3 profit to S$102.9 million added to pressure on parent OCBC.

Singapore Macro

The monetary backdrop explains much of the selling. MAS left policy unchanged at its October review, keeping its 2026 forecast for core inflation at 1.5-2.0% and headline CPI around 2.0%, with September headline inflation at 2.2% year-on-year. But the pressure on the banks is coming from offshore: the Federal Reserve hiked in September, another move is being priced for December, and US Treasury yields remain elevated, tightening global financial conditions.

The transmission to SGX is direct. Higher global yields lift funding costs and squeeze net interest margins, while banks' bond holdings face mark-to-market losses — exactly the NIM and portfolio concerns flagged this week. With banks around 60% of the STI, any read on margins or credit costs in UOB's report will set the tone for the whole index.

US Overnight

US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as Americans voted in the midterms. The S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 7,568.92, snapping a three-day losing streak, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.83% to 25,372.01 — its best Election Day showing since 2010. The Dow fell 0.38% to 51,786.72, weighed down by Apple. Vote counting was still under way, with investors positioned for a potentially divided Congress.

Key Movers

$Nvidia (NVDA.US)$ +2.5% — the AI bellwether rebounded to about $207, recovering part of Friday's rout, as easing oil and Iran-diplomacy hopes lifted growth stocks. Broadcom and Micron also rose more than 2%.

$Apple (AAPL.US)$ -1.9% — the stock extended its post-earnings slide after beating Q4 estimates but guiding to a 45-46% gross margin, keeping the focus on slowing hardware growth.

$Meta (META.US)$ +2.7% — shares rose on reports of a US$20-25 billion bond sale to fund AI infrastructure, a day after S&P Global cut its outlook to negative on heavy capital spending.

After hours, $AMD (AMD.US)$ initially surged as much as 9% — Q3 revenue rose 45% to a record $13.4 billion, adjusted EPS of $2.09 beat the $1.95 consensus, data-centre revenue nearly doubled (+97%), and Q4 guidance of about $17 billion topped the ~$16.2 billion Street view. The print lifted chip peers and is the key overnight signal for tech-heavy Asian markets.

Asia Pre-Market

US index futures were roughly flat in early Wednesday trade — S&P 500 futures slightly lower and Nasdaq-100 futures a touch higher — as traders awaited midterm results, with AMD's surge supporting chip sentiment. WTI sat near $96.5 a barrel, close to Monday's four-week low after a roughly 7% drop on Iran peace-talk hopes. Gold slipped about 1% to near $3,930 an ounce, and Bitcoin firmed to around $77,800. For the SGX open, the benign chip and oil tone is a mild tailwind, but the session will be driven by UOB's results and positioning into DBS and OCBC later this week.

Today's US Earnings and Economic Calendar

Earnings Spotlight: $Qualcomm (QCOM.US)$ — closing its fiscal year, Qualcomm is expected to post EPS of $2.17 on $10.14 billion revenue, down from $3.00 and $11.27 billion a year ago, as Apple modem revenue fades and memory costs pressure Android builds. Reporting the same night as Arm, the pair will be read as a check on the smartphone cycle — and how much AI demand is offsetting a soft handset market — right into Friday's payrolls.

One More Thing

With three banks reporting in three days, separate what has happened from what is priced in. The STI's selloff is largely a de-rating ahead of the numbers, so the market's reaction will hinge less on whether Q3 profit is up or down year-on-year — UOB's ~3x jump is flattered by a weak 2025 base — and more on forward signals: NIM trajectory, credit costs and how long the rate squeeze lasts. A soft print with a better outlook can rally a beaten-down bank faster than a clean beat that confirms margin compression.

Sources: The Business Times, The Straits Times, MAS Monetary Policy Statement (Oct 2026), CNBC.

This briefing is compiled with AI assistance from market data and wire reports, and reviewed by the Longbridge editorial team before publication.

This briefing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.