Oil prices rose about US$1 a barrel on Tuesday, hitting the highest level in more than four months with a boost from a European Union stimulus deal and hopeful news about coronavirus vaccine trials. Brent crude futures settled at US$44.32 barrel, rising US$1.04, or 2.4 per cent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled at US$41.96 a barrel, gaining US$1.15, or 2.8 per cent.

Prices pared gains in post-settlement trade after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, reported US crude inventories grew last week by 7.5 million barrels compared with expectations for a draw of 2.1 million barrels. Oil was buoyed by an agreement among European Union leaders on a 750 billion-euro (S$1.2 trillion) fund to prop up coronavirus-hit economies.

Thomson Medical Group said on Tuesday that Thomson Kids Pte Ltd (TKPL), incorporated by the group's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Thomson Medical Pte Ltd, will focus on children's developmental health and well-being.

London-based Nithia Capital Resources Advisors is seeking to acquire troubled Singapore commodity trader Agritrade International (AIPL) and its shares in its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Singapore shares rose on Tuesday, reversing Monday's lacklustre performance amid renewed hopes for a virus vaccine and the European Union stimulus deal.

European shares closed above four-month highs on Tuesday, with Germany's blue-chip DAX erasing almost all its losses for the year, after EU leaders agreed on a landmark stimulus package to revive the bloc's economies from a coronavirus-induced slump. The pan-European Stoxx 600 jumped as much as 1.3 per cent before ending 0.3 per cent higher at its highest since early March, as did an index of euro zone blue-chip stocks which rose 0.5 per cent.

New agreement between Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) and Nasdaq will facilitate the regulatory exchange of information on issuers that are dual-listed on both exchanges. This includes a streamlined framework for issuers seeking a secondary listing on SGX.

Shares of banks and petroleum-linked companies rocketed higher on Tuesday, lifting the Dow even as the Nasdaq retreated from its record in the prior session. Dow members Exxon Mobil and Chevron jumped 7.1 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively as oil prices climbed to their highest level in four months following agreement of a massive European stimulus plan.

Somber President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that the coronavirus crisis in the United States is likely to "get worse before it gets better." "Some areas of our country are doing very well,"

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