SINGAPORE, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Singapore shares closed 2.97 percent higher on Friday, as investors bet a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress will deliver more stimulus spending under the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
U.S. markets ended at record highs on Thursday as investors firmly focused on the prospect for more stimulus and the likelihood that calm will prevail in the United States once Biden takes over presidency.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose on optimism about the prospect of more fiscal stimulus under the incoming Joe Biden administration.
Maybank-Kim Eng Retail Research said, "Technically, the Straits Times Index gapped up and is approaching its November peak of 2,920 points with the next key resistance at 2,960 points, while support base lies at the 2,800 points level."
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index jumped 86.22 points to 2,993.19 points. The trading volume was 2.55 billion shares worth 2.13 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 321 to 202.
SembCorp Industries rose 2.83 percent to 1.82 Singapore dollars. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, SembCorp Energy India Limited (SEIL) has won a new 400 megawatt solar power project in Rajasthan, northern India. The power plant is expected to be ready for commercial operation by mid-2022. The project will be funded through a mixture of internal funds and debt. With this win, the group will have a renewables portfolio of more than 3,000 megawatts in operation and under development across Singapore, China and India.
Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 2.39 percent to 57.52 U.S. dollars, while City Development Limited became one of the top losers by falling 2.65 percent to 7.35 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1.33 Singapore dollars) Enditem