ST Index extends gains for 7th session

SINGAPORE shares started out strong on Monday, hitting an intraday record high for the first time in over two years before shedding some gains but managed to extend the rally for the seventh straight session.

In the first 30 minutes of trading, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) hit 3,360.95 before erasing some of the gains.

Still, the STI added 9.07 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 3,349.80, buoyed by strong local earnings and the upbeat sentiment from the landslide win by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, as well as renewed optimism over US President Donald Trump's tax-cut plan.