Technology shares led gains in U.S. stocks as investors awaited earnings from some of the biggest companies. The Nasdaq 100 climbed amid gains for Apple Inc., Tesla Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The S&P 500 Index ended higher, though gains were limited after the top Senate Democrat said lawmakers said an aid package was unlikely before mid-March and a U.S. health official expressed concern about vaccination delays. GameStop Corp. extended its extreme volatility, more than doubling before paring most of the gains.

Keppel real estate investment trust (Reit) reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.93 Singapore cents for the second half of the fiscal year ended December, up 4.6 per cent from its DPU of 2.80 cents in the year-ago period. This brought the Reit's full-year DPU for the whole of FY 2020 to 5.73 Singapore cents, a 2.7 per cent increase from 5.58 Singapore cents in FY 2019.

Mapletree Logistics Trust's (MLT) distribution per unit rose 1 per cent to 2.065 Singapore cents for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, on an enlarged unit base following its equity fundraising completed in Q3. This is up from 2.044 Singapore cents a year ago. This sum comprises of advanced distribution of 0.623 Singapore cents for the period Oct 1-28, 2020 that was paid on Dec 4, 2020, and 1.442 Singapore cents for the balance distribution for the period Oct 29 to Dec 31, 2020, payable on March 15, 2021.

Gallant Venture is proposing to acquire 66.25 per cent of shares in Singapore-Bintan Resort Holdings (SBRH) for a total consideration of S$4.94 million from shareholders that include Keppel Land, OCBC, UOB, DBS, UOL Equity Investments and Tropical Resorts. The remaining 33.75 per cent shares in SBRH are held by Salim Group-linked entities which are not involved in the proposed acquisition.

CNMC Goldmine Holdings said it will continue to halt all production activities and operations in Kelantan, Malaysia until Feb 4 in light of the second round of movement control order (MCO) restrictions - referred to as MCO 2.0 - imposed by the government in order to curb the rampant spread of the coronavirus. This means the company's ore material transfer, quarrying and mineral mining activities will remain shut till the end of the MCO 2.0 period, or until the company receives approval to operate from Malaysia's National Security Council (NSC).

Parkway Life real estate investment trust (Parkway Life Reit) posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 3.57 Singapore cents for the fourth fiscal quarter of the year ended December, up 6.7 per cent from 3.34 Singapore cents in the corresponding period last year. This pushed the Reit's DPU for the FY 2020 to 13.79 Singapore cents, some 4.5 per cent higher than 13.19 Singapore cents in FY 2019.

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