Stocks hit new highs while T-bill yields dive: Weekly Market Recap

Take the next best step.

That is what I often tell myself since starting Beansprout four years ago, especially when faced with uncertainty or setbacks. 

To me, building a business is like investing. It’s a marathon rather than a sprint, and what matters most is what we do consistently, because it’s what compounds over time.

I share more about this journey, the ups and downs, and what keeps me going in our latest podcast episode. If you’re curious about how it all started, do give it a listen and let me know what you think!

This week’s Money Diaries guest Dexter echoed a similar sentiment. As a game creator, he spends on aspirational projects, but when it comes to investing, he believes in long-term compounding and staying the course.

As always at the start of the month, we take stock of how to make our money work harder. The best fixed deposit rates have dipped further. The best savings accounts in Singapore weren’t spared either, with cuts to UOB Stash and GXS savings account rates. OCBC 360 is next, with lower rates kicking in from August. Mirroring this fall in interest rates, the cut-off yield for the latest 6-month T-bill auction also dived to 1.85%. 

The bright spot? Markets are riding higher. Both the S&P 500 and STI hit fresh highs this week, lifted by hopes of upcoming trade deals and stronger-than-expected economic data.

With Singapore stocks back in focus, I’ll be sharing more at the upcoming MooFest 2025 on Saturday, 12 July, including a panel discussion and fun giveaways at the Beansprout booth. Hope to see you there!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

🏛 Rally continues as stocks reach record high 

What happened? 

The U.S. Congress passed President Trump’s sweeping tax cut bill this week. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs in June, beating expectations and improving on May’s revised numbers. 

Trump also announced a trade deal with Vietnam and hinted at progress with other partners ahead of the July 9 deadline, when the 90-day pause on tariffs expires.

What does this mean?

Stronger-than-expected jobs data pushed back expectations for a Fed rate cut. 

Markets are now pricing in a first rate cut in September instead of July, with the probability of a July cut dropping to just 4.7% from 23.8% before the report, according to the CME Fedwatch Tool.

Expectations for three rate cuts in 2025 have also eased to just two by year-end.

Why should I care?

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their rally to close at fresh record highs, fuelled by upbeat economic data. 

Singapore’s STI joined the momentum, hitting a new all-time high of 4,019 points this week.

Developers led the gains as lower interest rates led to optimism about higher sales volumes, despite additional property cooling measures announced in Singapore. Gains were led by Hongkong Land (+8.6%) and UOL (+6.4%). 

🚗  Moving This Week

• NTT Data Group, a subsidiary of NTT that offers technology and data solutions, on June 27 filed a preliminary prospectus for a Reit listing of its data centres on the SGX mainboard. NTT DC Reit’s portfolio will comprise six data centre assets across three markets.
• Yangzijiang Financial announced the incorporation of YZJ Maritime Development, a proposed spin-off company, as a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore.
• Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust’s sponsor SWI Group has added a fifth data centre site in the UK, to its fund named AiOnX. The Stoneweg Icona data centre fund, rebranded as AiOnX, will now encompass five high-specification hyperscale data centre sites across strategic European locations including Spain, Italy, and now the UK.
• UMS Integration has issued its prospectus for the secondary listing on the main market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. The secondary listing will be undertaken by way of introduction and will not involve any issuance or offering of shares. Following the issuance of the prospectus, UMS is scheduled to be listed on the Bursa on Aug 1.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

Best Fixed Deposit Rates in Singapore [July 2025]

Compare the best fixed deposit rates from DBS, UOB, OCBC, Bank of China and SBI in July 2025. With interest rates falling, find out where you can still earn a decent return on your savings in Singapore.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

• Monday, 7 July: SGX x Nikko AM x Tiger Brokers Event: Explore Innovation Frontiers with the ChiNext Index
• Thursday, 10 July: FOMC Meeting Minutes
• Saturday, 12 July: MooFest 2025

Get the full list of stocks with upcoming dividends here. 

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

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