SINGAPORE – Local shares followed Wall Street’s lead and headed north on early predictions that former president Donald Trump was heading back to the White House.
The Straits Times Index (STI) inched up 0.6 per cent or 21.38 points to 3,602.99 on Nov 6, but losers outshone gainers 300 to 257 on robust trade of 1.6 billion shares worth $1.5 billion.
The STI’s top gainer was ST Engineering, up 2.4 per cent to $4.65, while Mapletree Industrial Trust led the losers, falling 3.3 per cent to $2.34.
The local banks rallied: DBS added 0.2 per cent to $39.15, OCBC rose 1.3 per cent to $15.30, and UOB advanced 1.7 per cent to $32.69.
Major regional indexes were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 2.6 per cent, while the Kospi in Seoul was down 0.5 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 2.2 per cent but Malaysian shares closed up 0.8 per cent. Australia’s market ended at its highest in six days, rising 0.8 per cent.
The gains came on the back of Wall Street excitement over the election. The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 1.4 per cent, while the S&P 500 added 1.2 per cent and the Dow industrials added 1 per cent.
The market’s reaction to the election is expected to be more muted in the next year or so, said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes, who noted that its post-election performance since 2000 has not leaned consistently positive or negative.
He said there is a recurring trend in the lead-up to and aftermath of the US elections – the year preceding often delivers a performance pop, but the period two years after has generally been muted, which would indicate slower growth in 2026.
But the real market drivers are still the state of the economy and monetary policy cycle.
