The Singapore stock market has moved higher in six straight sessions, gathering almost 185 points or 5.1% along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,740-point plateau and may add to its gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for Asian markets is positive, driven mainly by momentum following the U.S. election. Both European and U.S. markets closed higher, setting the stage for a positive trend in Asian bourses.

The STI finished modestly higher on Monday, with gains from trusts, weakness in plantations, and a mixed performance in the property sector.

For the day, the index added 15.10 points or 0.41% to finish at 3,739.47 after trading between 3,705.53 and 3,760.84.

Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment climbed 1.43%, while DBS Group added 0.83%, Emperador skidded 1.18%, Genting Singapore and DFI Retail Group both stumbled 1.27%, Hongkong Land declined 1.51%, Keppel DC REIT jumped 1.85%, Keppel Ltd lost 0.31%, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust gained 0.81%, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 0.88%, Mapletree Logistics Trust strengthened 1.56%, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rallied 1.62%, SATS tumbled 2.08%, Seatrium Limited tanked 2.50%, SembCorp Industries perked 0.20%, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.43%, SingTel retreated 1.54%, Venture Corporation plunged 5.49%, Wilmar International surrendered 1.59%, Yangzijiang Financial slumped 1.25%, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 5.60%, and City Developments, Comfort DelGro, Thai Beverage, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, and Frasers Centrepoint Trust remained unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic, as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed close to the line before finishing with mild gains, all at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 304.14 points or 0.69% to finish at 44,294.13, while the NASDAQ rose 11.99 points or 0.06% to close at 19,298.76, and the S&P 500 added 5.81 points or 0.10% to end at 6,001.35.

Investors remained optimistic that Donald Trump's policies, such as tax reductions and deregulation, will help boost corporate earnings.

Oil futures closed sharply lower on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and concerns about demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $2.34 or 3.6% at $68.04 a barrel.

RTTNews