UOB soars 4%, OCBC jumps 3% to new records, driving STI to all-time high

[SINGAPORE] Shares of OCBC and UOB hit record highs on Friday (Jan 23), driving the Straits Times Index (STI) to an all-time peak.

UOB shares surged as much as 4.2 per cent to S$39.19 as at 11.43 am, while OCBC shares jumped as much as 3.3 per cent to S$21.27.

The lenders’ heavy weighting sent the STI up 1.2 per cent to a peak of 4,888.96 points as at 11.33 am.

Momentum for UOB had already been building on Thursday, when the stock climbed 2.3 per cent. This came as Asian markets tracked Wall Street gains following the easing of tensions over Greenland, alongside a rating upgrade from Macquarie.

In a note on Wednesday, Macquarie analyst Jayden Vantarakis raised UOB to “outperform” and lifted its target price to S$41. He noted that Singapore banks are poised to benefit from wealth asset management inflows given the city-state’s “safe-haven” status.

On the corporate front, UOB’s Sydney branch on Wednesday priced a combined A$2 billion (S$1.7 billion) in two tranches of five-year senior unsecured notes.

Friday’s rally marked a significant milestone: UOB shares last peaked in March 2025, while OCBC crossed the S$20 mark for the first time last week.

Broader sentiment also remains bullish. Earlier this year, analysts forecast the STI could breach 5,000 points by end-2026, supported by policy tailwinds, recovering earnings and a revitalised initial public offering market. The index had already crossed the 4,700 level on the third trading day of the year.

Singapore’s macroeconomic environment has also been supportive, with the city-state’s gross domestic product expanding by a much-higher-than-expected 4.8 per cent in 2025 after a robust fourth quarter.