STI ends 2018 on a positive note
Straits Times Index ends 15.33 points or 0.5 per cent higher at 3,068.76 on last trading day of the year
Add BT as a preferred sourceIN a year blighted by increasing market volatility due to the tariff conflict between the world's two biggest economies, increasing borrowing rates and slowing global growth, Asian markets breathed a sigh of relief, albeit temporarily, to close out the year positively.
Markets can thank optimism emanating from renewed hopes of a thaw in US-China trade relations after US President Donald Trump said that "big progress" was made in trade talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
CMC Markets' Margaret Yang told BT: "The Trump-Xi call is a positive catalyst for sentiment, but the sustainability of this rally is dependent on more concrete details in trade negotiations to substantiate it."
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
