Stocks pull back sharply as tech stocks slip: Weekly Market Recap

What should we do when markets fall?

I’ve been asked this question by quite a few friends this week amid the global stock market selloff.

Market declines can be difficult to sit through. We may have started with a long-term view, but falling prices can still leave us wondering what to do next.

This week’s bank results brought that feeling closer to home. DBS maintained its total quarterly dividend at S$0.81 despite a 5% fall in profit, while OCBC reported 3% profit growth and raised its guidance. Yet both saw their share prices fall amid the broader selloff.

For me, moments like these are a reminder to pause and check whether our portfolios are still working for us.

A few things I’m keeping in mind:

• Maintain enough liquidity so we can meet upcoming needs and give ourselves room to wait.
• Review our position sizes so that a fall in any single investment doesn’t put our broader plans under pressure.
• Come back to our longer-term goals and check that our investments still support what we want to achieve.

This is where Beansprout’s Four Pots of Wealth can help. The Liquidity Pot gives us peace of mind, the Opportunity Pot lets us pursue higher-conviction ideas within clear limits, and the Growth and Income Pots keep us focused on our longer-term plans.

For those thinking about where to park their cash while weighing their next steps, the latest 6-month T-bill yield fell to 1.86%. We also compared the best fixed deposit rates for November and savings accounts offering higher interest. What works best will depend on when we need the money and how easily we need to access it.

Market pullbacks are part of the investing journey. With a clear plan and a resilient portfolio, we can face them with greater confidence and make thoughtful decisions along the way.

Happy growing!

Gerald, Founder of Beansprout

⏰ This Week In Markets

📊 US stocks tumble after midterm elections

What happened? 

US markets were volatile following the midterm elections, as investors considered what the results could mean for the technology and artificial intelligence sectors.

The Democrats regained control of both houses of Congress and won several governorships. This raised concerns that new federal and state leaders could introduce tighter rules or slow approvals for new AI data centres.

What does this mean?

The AI boom depends on companies continuing to invest heavily in chips, data centres and supporting infrastructure. 

Tighter regulation could delay these projects and push back the earnings expected from the AI buildout.

These concerns come as investors are already questioning whether the significant capital spending and financing commitments made by technology companies will generate sufficient returns.

Why should I care?

A sharp selloff in technology and semiconductor stocks pulled US markets lower. For the week, the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.4%, while the S&P 500 declined 2.7%.

US Treasury yields also moved lower following the midterm elections, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 4.86%.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 3.7%, weighed down by banking and technology stocks. 

UOB was among the biggest decliners after its net interest margin fell further in the third quarter, while consumer stocks and S-REITs held up better as government bond yields stabilised.

Read more about the potential market implications of the mid-term elections here. 

🚗  Moving This Week

• DBS' 3Q2026 net profit fell 5% year-on-year to S$2.81 billion, missing analysts' S$2.95 billion forecast, as weaker trading income offset growth elsewhere. Net interest income rose 4% to S$3.71 billion, supported by hedging and balance sheet growth. DBS declared a quarterly dividend of 81 cents per share, up from 75 cents a year earlier, including a 15-cent capital return. Read here for Beansprout’s take
• OCBC's 3Q2026 net profit rose 3% year-on-year to S$2.04 billion, slightly above analysts' S$2 billion forecast, supported by wealth management and wholesale banking growth. Net interest income increased 4% to S$2.31 billion, although net interest margin narrowed to 1.66% from 1.84%. Non-interest income fell 10% due to weaker investment performance at Great Eastern. Read here for Beansprout’s take
• UOB 3Q2026 Results: Profit falls 15%, but fee income hits a record high.
  UOB reported a net profit of S$1.25 billion in 3Q2026, down 15% quarter-on-quarter, as its net interest margin narrowed further to 1.68%. On the brighter side, fee income reached a record S$733 million, while its annualised dividend yield stands at approximately 4.3%, based on its 1H2026 interim dividend. Read here for Beansprout’s take
• Starhill Global REIT faces potential rental income loss after David Jones, its anchor tenant in Perth, entered voluntary administration. The lease contributes around S$9 million annually, or 6% of portfolio net property income. If terminated without a replacement tenant for 12 months, FY2026 DPU could fall 10.6% to 3.29 cents. No termination notice has been received. Read more here
• CSE Global secured S$434.9 million of new orders in 3Q2026, nearly three times the S$146.1 million recorded a year earlier. The strong order intake was driven mainly by demand for electrification solutions, lifting its order book to S$728.5 million as at end-September. Shares rose more than 7% following the update. Read more here
• Centurion Accommodation REIT's net property income for 9M2026 reached S$117.7 million, exceeding its IPO prospectus forecast by 4.8%, while revenue of S$164.4 million beat expectations by 5.7%. The stronger performance was driven by higher rental rates at its Singapore worker dormitories and increased occupancy at several properties. Third-quarter NPI also exceeded forecasts by 5.7%. Read more here

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 The Big Important Story

What the recent market pullback reminded me about building a resilient portfolio

The recent decline in share prices is a reminder to review our safety buffer, position sizes and how the Four Pots support our financial goals.

🤓 What we're looking out for next week

Key dates

• Monday, 9 Nov: SG market closed.
• Wednesday, 11 Nov: SIA Engineering ex-dividend, SIA, Prime US REIT, Valuemax, SATS, NTTDC REIT results
• Thursday, 12 Nov: NetLink NBN Trust ex-dividend, Sasseur REIT, Golden Agri-Resources, Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust, CSE Global, Starhub, ESR REIT, IREIT Global results. Applied Materials, CISCO results
• Friday, 13 Nov: DBS, SGX ex-dividend. United Hampshire, Frasers Property, Daiwa House Logistics, Singtel results. 

Get the full list of stocks with upcoming earnings and upcoming dividends. 

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