The Dow climbed 0.4%, to close at 27,875.62. The S&P 500 gained 0.2% to end the day at 3110.29. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% to 8519.88. Stocks notched slight gains during Friday’s session, but trade uncertainty still led to the market’s first weekly drop since October. The S&P 500 ended the week lower by 0.3%.

President Donald Trump told Fox News that a trade deal between China and the U.S. was close. His comments came after Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that Beijing wants to work for a trade deal with the U.S. but is not afraid to “fight back.

U.S. business activity improved in both the manufacturing and service sectors in November, according to a report Friday from IHS Markit. The U.S. flash manufacturing PMI rose to 52.2 for the month, above expectations for 51.4 and the month prior’s 51.3. Manufacturers saw the biggest rise in new orders since April, “with goods producers signaling a further recovery from the slowdown seen earlier in the year,” IHS Markit said in a statement. The services PMI improved by one point from October to 51.6, ahead of expectations for a reading of just 51.0. The increase was driven by an uptick in new client demand and job creation, IHS Markit said.

THE executive chairman of mainboard-listed, Myanmar-focused investment holding company Yoma Strategic will still hold a stake of at least 25 per cent, even with recent investment plans by Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp, the board disclosed on Sunday evening.

MAINBOARD-LISTED Procurri Corp has accepted a letter of intent from a would-be buyer of its third-party hardware maintenance business, the board said on Friday evening.

CATALIST-LISTED developer Hatten Land's plans to raise some S$5.1 million from a share placement will take a little longer than expected, the board disclosed on Saturday.

Hatten Land asked the bourse for, and was given, an extension of five market days - that is, until Nov 29 - to complete the placement of 56.5 million new shares to construction and property management businessman Yang Tse Pin's Kingpin Investment Pte Ltd.

OFFSHORE and marine service provider Ezion Holdings is divesting two companies by Nov 30 to streamline its assets and cut costs, its board said in a bourse filing on Friday night.

THE mandatory offer for Catalist-listed ISEC Healthcare is "not fair but reasonable", independent financial adviser CIMB Bank Berhad said, in an opinion released on Friday night.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR