President Donald Trump backed away from the precipice of war with Iran after the Islamic Republic attacked U.S. bases in Iraq with a barrage of missiles the Pentagon believes was intended to cause no casualties. In televised remarks to the nation on Wednesday, Trump defended the U.S. strike on a top Iranian general that touched off the missile barrage and said he would impose new sanctions on Tehran. But he also offered the country’s regime a diplomatic opening. Any new nuclear deal, he said, must allow “Iran to thrive and prosper, and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential. Iran can be a great country.”

Oil slumped below $60 a barrel and gold fell. The Nasdaq surged to a fresh record on Wednesday, as the major US indices all rose amid diminished anxiety over the US-Iran conflict in the wake of an attack on American troops. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.7 per cent at 9,129.24, eclipsing a January 2 record by almost 40 points. Asian equities are primed to follow those moves higher when Thursday trading begins.

ELITE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) plans to lodge its listing prospectus next week before the Chinese New Year break. If successful, it will be the first initial public offering (IPO) of 2020, and the first Reit denominated in British pound to be listed in Singapore. The Edge Singapore first reported on Tuesday that its initial yield is likely to be between 6 per cent and 7 per cent. The portfolio - valued at around £320 million (S$567 million) - comprises 97 freehold properties, all of which are in the United Kingdom.

Mainboard-listed Koon Holdings and its subsidiary Koon Construction & Transport (KCT) will convene meetings next month for their schemes of arrangement as part of the group’s debt restructuring exercise. Creditors will vote on the proposed schemes of Koon Holdings and KCT at 2pm and 4pm.

Apartments at The Avenir in District 9's River Valley area, jointly developed by Hong Leong Holdings Limited, mainboard-listed GuocoLand and Hong Realty (Private) Limited, will be available for sale to the public on Jan 11. Early-bird prices for the 376-unit freehold condominium start from S$2,930 per square foot (psf) for one- to three-bedroom units, and from S$3,030 psf for four-bedroom units including those with a family room.

Singtel’s wholly-owned subsidiary Optus on Tuesday said it does not expect the financial impact of the Australian bushfires to be material at this time.

A JOINT venture (JV) of Catalist-listed LHN will acquire a JTC industrial property located at 202 Kallang Bahru for some S$17 million plus goods and services tax from Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit).

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