Wall Street stocks advanced on Tuesday following better-than-expected US economic data as markets monitored Georgia elections that will determine control of the US Senate. Equities shrugged off early weakness and Monday's decline to finish the session solidly higher after manufacturing data topped estimates and fourth-quarter auto sales also impressed to the upside. The gains came after stocks pulled back on Monday on worries that a Democratic sweep of the two Georgia Senate runoffs would clear the way for tax increases and other major legislative changes.

Petroleum-linked equities surged as Saudi Arabia announced an unexpected production cut that boosted oil prices.

Amazon.com said it bought 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft, as it looks to boost its delivery capabilities to cater to a surge in online orders. The aircraft, including seven from Delta Air Lines and four from WestJet Airlines, will join Amazon's air cargo network by 2022, the online retailer said in a statement.

The European Union is negotiating with Pfizer and BioNTech on a deal that could double their supply of Covid-19 vaccine to the region, according to people familiar with the talks. The new contract would include 100 million doses, as well as an option for as many as 200 million more, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Alibaba Group will close its music streaming platform Xiami Music next month, in a move that marks a step back from its ambitions to push into China's entertainment industry. Alibaba acquired the music service in 2013, and invested millions of yuan to compete in China's online music market, which is dominated by Tencent Holdings. Its efforts however have not paid off and the app currently only has 2 per cent of China's music streaming market, behind KuGou Music, QQ Music, KuWo and NetEase Cloud Music, according to Beijing-headquartered data intelligence company TalkingData.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay, a senior administration official said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. The move is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data, the official said.

Qualcomm said company President Cristiano Amon will succeed chief executive officer Steve Mollenkopf, who will retire in June after 26 years at the world's biggest maker of chips that power smartphones.

Qantas Airways has started taking bookings for international flights from July 1 in a perhaps optimistic view that by then, vaccinations will have begun to curb the spread of the coronavirus and travel demand will pick up. Although countries including Singapore, China, Israel, the US and the UK have started vaccinating their populations, Australia is yet to authorise a Covid jab and doesn't plan to offer a shot until March.

Offshore support-vessel owner and operator Vallianz Holding has exercised its rights to defer a payment of distribution to perpetual securities holders originally due on Tuesday. The firm had issued US$22.5 million worth of senior perpetual securities, carrying a 4 per cent coupon, as part of its S$500 million multi-currency debt-issuance programme.

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