Singapore stocks rallied yesterday following news that Democrat challenger Joe Biden was declared president of the United States at the weekend, easing the uncertainty over the outcome of the election.

Asian markets elsewhere continued to register gains from last week, with key benchmarks for Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur all ending higher.

State Street Global Markets' senior multi-asset strategist Daniel Gerard said Mr Biden's win "has been embraced by markets as it provides a narrative of desire for reconciliation, diplomacy and more international cooperation".

"Asia, particularly emerging markets Asia, will be a strong beneficiary of the current environment, due to its relatively better handling of the pandemic, its exposure to technology and recovering consumer and global trade story," he said. However, near-term risks, including renewed geopolitical tensions and a resurgent pandemic, could threaten to reverse gains in global trades, he added.

The local blue-chip benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended yesterday up 1.19 per cent to 2,609.36. Gainers outpaced losers 319 to 166, with 1.74 billion securities worth $1.24 billion changing hands.

The best performer was Venture Corp, up 4.5 per cent to $20.72 despite the electronics manufacturing services firm posting a 5.9 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit to $80.2 million from a year ago.

Also in the black were the local lenders. DBS Bank rose 2.1 per cent to $22.95, OCBC Bank gained 1.9 per cent to $9.10 and United Overseas Bank climbed 1 per cent to $20.65.

Only three STI constituents ended in the red. Singapore Airlines dipped 1.4 per cent to $3.43; Sembcorp Industries fell 0.6 per cent to $1.65, and Mapletree Logistics Trust shed 0.5 per cent to $2.07.