Asian stocks looked set for gains Tuesday after a positive vaccine update sent U.S. equities tied to an economic reopening higher while defensive tech shares lagged. The dollar fell.

S&P 500 futures edged up at the open. The benchmark closed at an all-time high after Moderna Inc.’s vaccine was shown to be 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial.

Stocks poised to benefit from a reopening, such as cruise lines and air carriers, were among the day’s best performers. Futures gained in Japan and Hong Kong. Benchmark Treasury yields ticked back above 0.90%. Oil held gains.

Seafood restaurant group Jumbo Group on Monday said that it expects to report a net loss for FY20, following a preliminary review of its financial results for the fiscal year ended Sept 30, 2020. This is because the Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economy; and correspondingly, the group's business operations across its key markets in Singapore and China.

Capitaland has targeted to grow its China exposure in the "new economy" sector to S$5 billion over the next few years, from S$1.5 billion. This will be done by redeploying part of the capital from asset recycling to new economy assets such as business parks, logistics and data centres, the property giant said on Monday.

Shares of Starburst Holdings, which designs and installs anti-ricochet ballistic protection systems, slid on Monday after it disclosed that its co-founders are out on bail amid a probe by Singapore's anti-corruption watchdog. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) last Thursday interviewed executive chairman Edward Lim Chin Wah, managing director Yap Tin Foo, chief financial officer (CFO) Wu Guangyi, and senior project manager Josiah Lawrence Ng Eng Long.

Construction player Lum Chang Holdings on Monday said it has secured a tender for an industrial project at Kallang Way, which is part of the Geylang planning area. The contract, valued at about S$127.1 million, is to be executed with DBS Trustee as trustee of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT). The project is scheduled to be completed over 21 months. Its scope of works includes the construction of two multi-user general industrial buildings.

Sembcorp Industries on Monday said a 25-year concession which allows its partially-owned company to supply potable water to residential and non-residential customers in Batam has lapsed. The concession granted to private water company Adhya Tirta Batam (ATB) by the Batam local government in 1995 expired on Nov 14, 2020. Sembcorp Utilities Netherlands NV has a 50 per cent stake in ATB.

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