Singapore shares fall 3.5% as banks lead losses
UOB was the weakest STI constituent, falling 5.2 per cent, while declining stocks outnumbered gainers across the broader market.
Losses in Singapore’s three local banks pulled the Straits Times Index (STI) lower on Oct 8, 2026. The benchmark closed at 5,412.96, a decline of 195.48 points, or 3.5 per cent.
UOB recorded the largest drop among the index’s constituents, finishing at S$40.25 after losing S$2.19, or 5.2 per cent. DBS ended at S$73.85, down S$3.64, or 4.7 per cent, while OCBC closed at S$29 after a fall of S$1.30, or 4.3 per cent.
Market-wide, 438 stocks declined and 163 advanced. Trading volume reached 1.7 billion securities, with turnover of S$4.2 billion. Clearbridge topped the activity rankings as 135.3 million of its shares were traded.
Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana attributed the pressure to higher global bond yields and concerns over local banks’ earnings. Higher yields were weighing on equity valuations and increasing the appeal of fixed-income investments relative to dividend-paying shares, she said. Earnings concerns had also prompted profit-taking, with the STI’s concentration in financial stocks magnifying the effect.
Chanana noted that the STI remained 17 per cent higher for the year despite the sell-off. She characterised the decline as a partial reversal of a substantial rally, rather than necessarily evidence of broadly weakening Singapore fundamentals.
Jardine Matheson was the STI’s strongest performer, adding US$0.64, or 1.1 per cent, to reach US$56.56. In the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Top Glove led advances with a gain of S$0.01, or 3.8 per cent, to S$0.275. First Resources had the steepest decline, losing S$0.28, or 6.1 per cent, to S$4.29.
