The Straits Times Index closed at 5,694.02 on Friday, up 4.27 points, or 0.08%, after trading between an intraday high of 5,710.95 and a low of 5,669.22. The advance was narrow: only four of the index's 30 constituents closed higher, seven were unchanged, and 19 fell, leaving the modest headline gain out of step with the session's broader tone.

The three local banks rose together for the first time in several sessions, ending Thursday's split between a higher OCBC and lower DBS and UOB. Jardine Matheson also added to the day's gains. REITs, property names and several industrial counters mostly slipped, leaving the index's advance concentrated at the top rather than spread across the market.

Session Movers

OCBC (O39.SG, +0.67%) rose alongside DBS and UOB after the three banks jointly executed live domestic SGD interbank transactions using tokenised deposits on Swift's blockchain-based ledger on Friday — the first such transaction involving all three local lenders, aimed at enabling always-on settlement beyond traditional banking windows. Separately, Forbes' 2026 ranking of the world's best-performing banks placed OCBC first and DBS second in the global banking category, with OCBC citing second-quarter net profit up 22% year-on-year. The stock trades at 2.2 times book, above its five-year range and cheaper than only about 1% of the past five years.

UOB (U11.SG, +0.66%) joined the same tokenised-deposit settlement on Swift's ledger, while separate reporting this week noted the three banks have jointly raised more than S$10 billion in guaranteed bonds over the past three months through a global programme listed on SGX. UOB trades at 1.37 times book, roughly in line with the industry median of 1.37.

SGX (S68.SG, -1.54%) fell even as the exchange reported that August's average daily securities traded value jumped 35% year-on-year to S$2.2 billion, with total market turnover up 29% to S$43.3 billion and ETF net inflows extending to an 18th consecutive month. Derivatives volumes were the exception, down 2.0% year-on-year to 1.3 million contracts. At 37.76 times earnings, the stock trades above its 10-year range, cheaper than only about 2.4% of the past decade.

DFI Retail (D01.SG, -3.05%) was the day's sharpest decliner among tracked movers, with no fresh company disclosure accompanying the drop; the latest updates on record remain DBS's September 9 reiterated Buy rating with a $5.00 target and Wellcome's early-September tie-up with CJ Foods to expand its Korean product range in Hong Kong, targeting more than $22 million in sales. Consensus still rates the stock strong buy, with an average target implying over 40% upside.

One point worth noting

Only four of the STI's 30 constituents closed higher Friday, yet the index still edged up 0.08% — a breadth-versus-index divergence that has recurred repeatedly over the past several weeks. The gains were concentrated entirely in the three local banks and Jardine Matheson, while REITs and property counters broadly declined, a reminder that a handful of heavyweights can lift the headline number even as most of the market softens.