STI climbs 2.89% to 2,588.62 amid global rally as US elections hangs in the balance

WITH the outcome of the US elections still hanging in the balance, stock markets around the world staged strong rallies during their most recent trading sessions.

Analysts and investors had initially been hoping for a decisive outcome, but many seem to now accept that some political gridlock might well be a good thing.

"On the bright side, Trump's tax cuts are unlikely to be reversed under this scenario," said the Bank of Singapore in a research note on Thursday, adding that political gridlock will also make it harder for stimulus spending programmes to be enacted.

Still, the Bank of Singapore said it is expecting there to be "sufficient common ground" for US lawmakers to pass a relief aid package of around US$500 billion in Q1 2021.

Against this backdrop, the local blue chip benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended Thursday up 72.64 points or 2.89 per cent at 2,588.62.

All but four of the STI components ended the day higher.

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The best performer within the STI was Ascendas Reit, which ended the day 6.65 per cent higher at S$3.21.

It was followed closely by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which climbed 6.18 per cent to S$1.89.

The most heavily traded stocks by value were the three banks - DBS, OCBC and UOB - which also reported their Q3 2020 financial numbers and provided relatively positive guidance this week.

DBS ended the day 4.08 per cent higher at 22.43. OCBC climbed 3.48 per cent to S$8.93. UOB was up 3.23 per cent and closed at S$20.44.

Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 325 to 143, and S$1.87 billion worth of shares changed hands.

Around the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Korea's Kospi ended Thursday 3.25 per cent and 2.4 per cent higher respectively.

Closer to home, key market benchmarks for Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok were 3.04 per cent, 2.52 per cent and 3.43 per cent higher respectively.