Singapore shares poised to rally on Wall St gains

THE benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) may see an extension of last week's rally this week, bolstered by gains on Wall Street on the back of a stronger-than-expected March jobs report, and hopes for a rapid conclusion to US-China trade talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 26,424.99, up 0.2 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent to 2,892.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 per cent to 7,938.69. The three indices are at their 2019 peaks.

Stephen Innes, SPI Asset Management's head of trading and market strategy, said: "There remains uncertainty over US-China trade negotiations but given the trade dispute is the strongest headwind global markets have faced over the past 12 months, I think local equity markets will catch a significant updraft when the deal is finally tabled."