Fixed deposit rates decline and stocks fall: Weekly Market Recap

This week, some of you may be celebrating Deepavali or Halloween. 

Next week, I’ll be marking my 40th birthday, while some Americans may be celebrating the election of their favourite Presidential candidate.

Reflecting on what’s truly worth celebrating, I realise it’s often about recognising the small steps we take—whether that’s prioritising our financial wellbeing or gaining knowledge on how to grow our wealth.

To make it easier for you to take a step forward, we’ve created quick comparison guides on the best places to park your spare cash to earn a higher yield this month. 

While fixed deposit rates in Singapore have dipped further this November, there’s good news: some savings accounts still offer interest rates above 3% p.a. this month. Plus, we cover what to expect from the upcoming 6-month T-bill auction on 7 November.

Remember, financial success isn’t just about hitting major milestones. The small steps we take along the way are worth celebrating too.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

🤔 US Election Uncertainty 

What happened? 

The US Presidential Election remains highly competitive, with recent polls showing the outcome could still go either way.

As of 30 October, FiveThirtyEight’s National Polls tracker shows Kamala Harris holding a slim national lead of about 1.2 points over Donald Trump—well within the margin of error.

Similarly, polling data from crucial swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan also indicate a tightly contested race.

What does this mean?

While the elections may be making the news headlines, investment decisions are best guided by longer-term fundamentals, like market and economic conditions, rather than short-term political events.

Key factors to monitor include the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, corporate earnings, and the health of the global economy.

Why should I care? 

US stocks fell as investors evaluated mixed earnings reported by mega-cap tech companies.

On one hand, investors grew increasingly concerned about significant investments into artificial intelligence by companies such as Meta and Microsoft. 

However, strong earnings by Amazon on the growth of its cloud business provided some relief. 

SGX recently introduced Daily Leverage Certificates (DLCs) on the “Magnificent 7”, including household names such as Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. Learn more here. 

Bond yields continued to climb, weighing on the performance of Singapore REITs, with losses led by Suntec REIT, Keppel DC REIT and Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT. 

🚗  Moving This Week

• Capitaland Ascendas REIT 3Q24 portfolio occupancy rate fell 1.0%-point quarter-on-quarter to 92.1%. Australia had the steepest decline at 5.1%-point to 91.7% due to lease expiry in Sydney.
• Mapletree Industrial Trust 1H25 net property income rose 2.9% year-on-year, as contributions from newly acquired Osaka Data Centre offset non-renewal of leases in North America and income loss from divestments. DPU rose 1.3% to 6.80 cents.
• Sheng Siong 3Q24 net profit rose 12.6% year-on-year to S$39.1m, aided by 5 new stores opening and improved same store sales. It will add one store in 4Q24 and has tendered for 4 HDB stores.
• Hongkong Land will exit the build-to-sell residential development business as it pivots towards fund management. The company intends to recycle up to US$10 billion in capital by 2035, and grow assets under management from US$40 billion today to up to US$100 billion by then. It expects to double its profit before interest and tax, and double dividends per share in that time.
• SGX has launched Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) for five Hong Kong underlying stocks, including BYD Company, HSBC, Bank of China, Alibaba and Tencent. The SDRs would lower the minimum investment sums to as little as 2% of what an investor in Hong Kong would typically pay. Learn more about SDRs of Hong Kong stocks here. 

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The big important story

Where to park your cash for higher yield?

We share the best ways to earn a yield on your cash through fixed deposits, Singapore T-bills, SSBs and money market funds.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

• Tuesday, 5 Nov: CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Elite UK REIT earnings, US Election
• Wednesday, 6 Nov: CapitaLand Investment and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust earnings
• Thursday, 7 Nov: DBS and Frasers Hospitality Trust earnings, Singapore 6-month T-bill auction
• Friday, 8 Nov: UOB, OCBC and Singapore Airlines earnings

Check out the full list of Singapore stocks, REITs and ETFs with upcoming dividend payments with our dividend calendar.

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

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