Local shares continued to gain ground yesterday following the trend in world markets as news of United States President Donald Trump's return to the White House boosted investor confidence.
The upbeat mood lifted the Straits Times Index (STI) by 12.03 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 2,529.26, with gainers outpacing losers 247 to 178 on trade of 967.47 million shares worth $1 billion.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) was the index's top performer, gaining 1.43 per cent to $3.55. The rise followed Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung's statement in Parliament that the Government will "continue to support SIA, CAG (Changi Airport Group) and other companies in the aviation sector as much as we can".
CapitaLand, on the other hand, was at the bottom of the index, falling 0.36 per cent to $2.76.
Two other STI constituents felt some pain yesterday as well: Dairy Farm International declined 0.25 per cent to US$3.93, while Jardine Cycle & Carriage slipped 0.22 per cent to $18.10.
Asian markets also took positively to the news of Mr Trump's recovery.
The Nikkei rose 0.52 per cent, while the Kospi climbed 0.34 per cent to reach its highest close in two weeks. The Hang Seng Index closed up 0.9 per cent at 23,980.65.
Australia traders were mostly on hold yesterday awaiting the annual budget later in the evening, although shares rose 0.35 per cent on the back of the regional trend plus news of an A$16 billion (S$15.6 billion) merger between two major gold mining firms.
The gains in Asian equities also tracked the latest results of opinion polls on the US presidential election - Democratic nominee Joe Biden is still polling ahead of Mr Trump.
DBS Group Research noted yesterday: "Asian investors may prefer Biden's multilateral approach to Trump's unpredictable style. Biden has said he will reconsider tariffs with China and end the trade war with the European Union."
Analysts noted that recent polls put Mr Biden between 10 and 14 points ahead of Mr Trump nationally and leading in key swing states.
Axi strategist Stephen Innes noted that "the market seems to have settled on the idea that a Biden win is bullish stocks... as the return of stability and the promise of (big government) spending outweigh any concerns about future tax hikes" that would be expected from the Democrats.
• Additional information from Agence France-Presse
