Singapore stocks hit new highs while Chinese markets surge: Weekly Market Recap

This week’s Money Diaries interview with a finance professional struck a chord.

In the first of our new series on Singaporeans' financial habits, our guest shared how he taught himself to invest after his father lost his job 20 years ago. Realising he needed to grow his money beyond his salary, he now has 90% of his portfolio in Singapore stocks, generating around S$2,000 in monthly dividend income.

While the Singapore Budget 2025 provided generous handouts like CDC vouchers and SG60 vouchers, nothing beats the ability to build long-term wealth through investing.

Thankfully, Singapore is a great place for dividend investors. Just this week, UOB announced a special dividend, pushing its projected dividend yield above 6% for 2025.

If you're looking to start investing, we’ve put together a comparison of the top brokers with the lowest fees to help you get started.

For a safer option, check out our insights on the upcoming T-bill auction on 27 Feb. I’m also setting a reminder for the current Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB), offering a 10-year average return of 2.97%, before rates fall in the next issuance.

As our guest reflects, his biggest financial regret is not starting to invest earlier. Don’t wait—start growing your wealth today! 

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

💰 Global markets diverge

What happened? 

US economic data weakened as concerns grew over the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs on inflation.

Consumer sentiment took a hit, with the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index dropping 10% month-on-month in February, as fears of tariff-induced price increases loomed.

Meanwhile, Walmart’s weak earnings guidance for the year ahead added to worries about consumer spending and the overall health of the US economy.

What does this mean?

Concerns in the US stand in contrast to improving sentiment in the Chinese market.

Chinese stocks gained momentum after Alibaba reported stronger-than-expected earnings, boosting investor confidence.

Additionally, a high-profile meeting between President Xi Jinping and several tech entrepreneurs signaled a more supportive stance from the Chinese government towards private enterprises, further lifting market optimism.

Why should I care? 

The S&P 500 retreated after hitting a record high earlier in the week, as economic and geopolitical concerns pressured the market.

In contrast, Chinese markets ended the week higher, buoyed by improving sentiment toward tech stocks.

Meanwhile, Singapore stocks surged to a record high, fueled by positive sentiment after UOB committed to a special dividend in 2025.

🚗  Moving This Week

• UOB reported a net profit of S$1.52 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, up 8.6% from the previous year. UOB’s board recommended a final dividend of 92 cents per share, which will bring the total dividend for FY2024 will to $1.80 per share. The board has also recommended a special dividend of 50 cents per ordinary share in 2025. In addition, a new share buyback programme of $2 billion has been introduced, which will span three years until 2027. Read our analysis here.
• SIA’s reported net profit rose to S$1.6 billion for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2024, due to one-off non-cash accounting gain of S$1.1 billion from the completion of the Air India-Vistara merger in November 2024. The company’s third quarter operating profit grew 3.3% year-on-year to S$629 million, as revenue climbed 2.7%. The company expects the demand for air travel to stay healthy in the last quarter of FY2025. Read more here.
• Singtel’s reported a net profit of S$1.3 billion for the third quarter ended 31 Dec, boosted by a net exceptional gain of S$639 million. The exceptional gains were due to disposal of partial stakes in its Thai associate Intouch and Indara, formerly known as Australia Tower Network, as well as its share of Airtel’s exceptional net gain. Singtel’s underlying net profit rose 21.6% to S$680 million for the third quarter. Singtel expects to pay a total dividend of around S$0.165 per share for FY2025. Read more here.
• Seatrium reported net profit of S$157 million for 2024, its first full year profit since 2017. Its net order book reached a decade high of S$23.2 billion, and the company has proposed a dividend of 1.5 cents per share. Read more here.
• Genting Singapore reported a net profit of $222 million in the second half of 2024, 34% lower year-on-year due to a decline in revenue. The company declared a final dividend of 2 cents per share, unchanged from the previous year. Read more here.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

Money Diaries #1: A Finance Professional Who’s Learning To Spend More on Himself

 In our first Money Diaries interview, we speak to a 49-year-old professional who works in the investment and financial education space.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

• Wednesday, 26 Feb: OCBC earnings, United Hamphire US REIT ex-dividend, Nvidia earnings
• Thursday, 27 Feb: ST Engineering, CapitaLand Investment, Sembcorp Industries earnings, 6 month Singapore T-bill auction

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

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