Markets look beyond US Capitol unrest to expected stimulus

Singapore

SINGAPORE and regional stocks marched forward on Thursday, taking their cue from the US Democrats' Senate win, brushing aside the storming of Capitol Hill in the US.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.5 per cent or 43.96 points to close at 2,906.97, its highest in more than 10 months.

Simultaneous gains were made across much of the Asia-Pacific, with Japan, South Korea and Australia stocks advancing to track big overnight jumps by the major indices on Wall Street, where investors largely shrugged off the unrest in Washington DC.

On Thursday morning New York time, the Dow performed an encore, surging over 300 points in just the first hour of trading.

Earlier, the Democrats picked up two seats in the Georgia Senate runoff elections, taking the chamber to a 50-50 tie between them and the Republicans. With the chamber evenly split, Democratic Vice-President elect Kamala Harris will play the role of the tie-breaker, delivering to the Democrats control of the Senate as well as the …