Shifting stock market narrative during US polls points to positive underlying investment tone

THROUGH the heart-stopping twists and turns of the US elections this past week - including Donald Trump's appalling interference with the vote counting - stock prices have been remarkably firm.

The S&P 500 index closed higher on four out of the five trading days, chalking up a total gain of more than 7.3 per cent. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index charted a similar trajectory, ending the week nearly 6.4 per cent higher.

This persistent strength in the market seemed strange to me initially, and stranger still as the outcome of the elections unfolded.