Shares of all three Singapore banks extended their decline, as potential US Federal Reserve rate cuts and the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs weigh on the banks’ outlook. Yesterday, OCBC Bank led the losses, dropping 4.3 percent to close below $15 for the first time since October 2024. UOB slid 3.3 percent and DBS Bank also fell 3.3 percent.

The three local banks, which form a heavy weighting on the Straits Times Index, have pulled the overall benchmark down 2 percent. The STI is down 10% for the year. Meanwhile, total securities turnover value on the Singapore Exchange has increased 25 percent year on year to S$29.7 billion in March, with the STI and volumes across multiple asset classes hitting record levels.

What do we make use of these situations? On Market View, Willie Keng speaks with Thilan Wickramasinghe, Head of Equity Research, Maybank Securities to unpack all these developments.