Major U.S. stock-market benchmarks ended Monday’s session at records as investors remained attuned to developments in the U.S.-China trade relationship and cheered a wave of merger activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.68% to end at 28,066.47, while the Nasdaq Composite, climbed 1.3%, to 8,632.49. The S&P 500 index SPX ended higher at 3,133.64, a gain of 0.8%.

Analysts said investors remain sensitive to headlines around U.S.-China trade talks, with remarks Saturday by Robert O’Brien, the U.S. national security adviser, in the spotlight. O’Brien told reporters at a security conference in Halifax that a “phase-one” deal between the U.S. and China by the end of the year still appeared possible, Reuters reported, while also warning that the U.S. would not “turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Hong Kong or what’s happening in the South China Sea, or other areas of the world where we’re concerned about China’s activity.”

On the economic front, the Chicago Fed’s national activity index for October fell to a reading of negative-0.71, from negative-0.45 in the previous month. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index rose to a negative-1.3 in November from negative-5.1 in October.

CREDIT ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has changed its outlook on Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT) to negative from stable, while affirming its Baa2 issuer ratings.

MINDCHAMPS PreSchool has collaborated with one of Australia's top theatre schools, Actors Centre Australia, to open a performing arts preschool in Singapore.

Asian airlines are cautious about the outlook for 2020 after trade disputes undermined confidence and led to economic growth below initial forecasts this year, the head of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said on Monday.

AIMS APAC Reit (AA Reit) and its joint venture partner, Stockland, have secured a new agreement with its existing master tenant Optus Administration, for a further 12-year term at the Optus Centre property in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia.

A CONSORTIUM led by mainboard-listed First Sponsor has partnered Australia’s ICD Property to redevelop the iconic City Tattersalls Club (CTC) project in Sydney.

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