Wall Street pulled back from the celebration that followed good news on a potential Covid-19 vaccine, ending Tuesday's session mixed. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day with a 0.9 per cent gain at 29,420.92, while the broader S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to 3,545.53. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.4 per cent to close at 11,553.86. Optimism about Monday's announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech that their vaccine was 90 per cent effective was tempered by the realisation the economic gains likely will not be felt until late next year since it will take months for any vaccine to be widely distributed.

On the other side, European shares held near eight-month highs on Tuesday, riding a wave of optimism about a Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough, although concerns about the pandemic's economic damage capped gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600, which rallied 4 per cent on Monday after positive news from US drugmaker Pfizer about its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, rose 0.9 per cent. The European Commission said it will approve on Wednesday a contract for the supply of Pfizer and its partner BioNTech's potential coronavirus vaccine.

Quarz Capital and Black Crane Capital, in a letter sent on Tuesday and seen by The Business Times, have made a requisition to the board of Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust's (Sabana Reit) manager to convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

Bukit Sembawang Estates reported a net profit of S$73.7 million for the first half of its financial year ending in September, up 11 per cent from S$66.6 million the year before. The group's earnings per share were lifted to 28.45 cents, up from 25.73 cents last year.

First Reit distribution per unit (DPU) of First Reit fell 53 per cent to 1.01 Singapore cent for the third fiscal quarter ended September, compared to 2.15 cents a year ago. This brings the Reit's DPU for the first nine months of the year to 3.31 cents, some 48.7 per cent lower than 6.45 cents in the year-ago period.

Keppel Land China, a subsidiary of Keppel Land, is divesting its 100 per cent stake in Chengdu Hilltop Development Co Ltd for an aggregate amount of 1.26 billion yuan (S$250.4 million). The transaction, entered into by Keppel Land China's subsidiary Hillwest Pte Ltd, is expected to earn the company a divestment gain of approximately S$43 million.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding kicked off its annual Singles' Day mega-shopping event on Wednesday, looking to cash in on consumers itching for discounts as the economy rebounds from the COVID-19 crisis. This year's online shopping extravaganza also comes a week after Alibaba lost almost US$76 billion of its market value, following China's suspension of the US$37 billion listing of Ant Group, the financial technology firm Alibaba owns a third of.

Oil ended nearly 3 per cent higher on Tuesday as hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine is on the horizon outweighed worries about a drop in fuel demand from new lockdowns to contain the virus. Brent crude futures settled up US$1.21, or 2.9 per cent, at US$43.61 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained US$1.07, or 2.7 per cent, to US$41.36.

News of a breakthrough in the race to find a Covid-19 vaccine sparked one of the heaviest trading days since the height of the pandemic crisis, according to early data analysed by Reuters, with nearly US$2 trillion changing hands on Monday. Traders stampeded to the riskier plays in equities, foreign exchange and bond markets after Pfizer Inc released positive data on its vaccine trial, while rotating out of safe havens such as technology stocks, Japanese yen and top-rated bonds.

Boeing said on Tuesday it was hit with another 12 cancelled orders for the 737 MAX, as the flagship aircraft is close to returning to the skies after being grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes.

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