DBS jumps 3% to new all-time high, drives market cap past S$150 billion

Shares of DBS soared more than 3 per cent on Tuesday (Oct 7), driving its market capitalisation beyond S$150 billion.

The counter hit S$54.80 at market close, continuing a rally that has seen it climb more than 25 per cent year to date.

In June, DBS became the first listed company in Singapore to cross the US$100 billion, or S$129 billion, market capitalisation milestone, helped by a weaker US dollar. It now has nearly double the market capitalisation of its nearest banking rival, OCBC.

“DBS checks all the boxes investors want – growth, safety, and income,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. “It has kept net interest income resilient despite a softer rate path, leaned on record fee pools in wealth and cards, and rewarded shareholders with bigger dividends and buybacks.”

Chanana also noted that the bank offers “balance-sheet safety and a dependable cash flow” as fears around an artificial intelligence bubble grow.

“Add a still benign credit cycle and deepening liquidity in Singapore’s markets, and investors are simply paying up for clarity,” she added.

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Optimism around US Federal Reserve rate cuts has driven DBS shares and the Straits Times Index (STI) higher, though OCBC and UOB recently did not rise to new highs like DBS.

The head of prime brokerage dealing at Maybank Securities in Singapore Tareck Horchani last week said that DBS is more efficiently run than its competitors, and has more of a focus to reward shareholders.

New measures by the Singapore government to enhance equity market returns via the “value unlock” package and the Equity Market Development Programme have also resulted in analysts raising their STI price targets.

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The Singapore Exchange last month also launched the new iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index tracking the performance of the next 50 stocks outside the benchmark 30-stock STI.