Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Wednesday, as a rout in technology shares halted and investors shrugged off news that AstraZeneca had paused global trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210.82 points, or 0.77 per cent, at the open to 27,711.71. The S&P 500 opened higher by 37.98 points, or 1.14 per cent, at 3,369.82. The Nasdaq Composite gained 217.07 points, or 2.00 per cent, to 11,064.77 at the opening bell.

CapitaLand on Wednesday said that Rochester Commons - a campus-style integrated development - is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The development is at 1 Rochester Park within one-north and will feature a Grade A office tower, a hotel, 12 black-and-white heritage bungalows and Catapult - an executive learning centre.

Shares of Raffles Education Corp sustained their gains on Wednesday afternoon after the company announced that substantial shareholder Oei Hong Leong had bumped up his stake slightly, from 12.9 per cent to 13.05 per cent. The tycoon bought an additional two million ordinary shares on Tuesday for S$284,594, Raffles Education said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

Tan Chong International on Wednesday said it has disposed of its stake in associate company Tifa Finance for some 249.7 billion rupiah (S$23.2 million). Tifa is a multi-financing company that provides leasing, consumer financing and factoring financing services in Indonesia. Tan Chong's three wholly-owned subsidiaries - TCC, T8 Gallery, and TC Auto World - have sold their 44.5 per cent stake in Tifa to the Korea Development Bank (KDB), the group announced in a regulatory filing.

Catalist-listed coffeeshop consolidator Kimly announced on Wednesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kimly Makan Place has entered two joint-venture agreements for around S$2.5 million to operate and manage coffeeshops in Aljunied and Bukit Batok. Two private companies, Joo Seng Holdings and Hong Kah Holdings, have each entered into a joint venture with Kimly Makan Place to manage the coffeeshops at Block 1 Upper Aljunied Lane and Block 376 Bukit Batok Street 31 respectively.

UOB saw strong investor interest for its new US$600 million subordinated notes due 2031, which were priced at 1.75 per cent until the first call date. In response to The Business Times (BT) queries, the bank on Wednesday said there was "robust demand from the outset", with the deal reaching a peak orderbook of US$4.25 billion. The notes, to be issued below par at 99.739 per cent on Sept 16, 2020, are expected to qualify as Tier 2 regulatory capital of the bank, UOB said on Wednesday in a regulatory update.

Investment firm Emerald Technology Ventures announced on Wednesday that it closed a US$100 million water innovation impact fund, with Singapore state investment firm Temasek contributing as a cornerstone investor, alongside strategic investors SKion Water, Ecolab and Microsoft. The fund will invest in early- to expansion-stage companies globally, to support the development of technologies that address global challenges as identified within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These include conserving water resources, supporting solutions for sustainable and resilient cities, improving resource efficiency, adapting to climate change, reducing health risks and stimulating innovation and economic growth.

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