Market Update: STI climbs on back of strong GDP data

The Straits Times Index climbed, along with its Asian peers, on Monday, up by 35.77 points, or 1.27% at 2,848.78.

The gain came after the release of the country's Q3 GDP data, which shrank by 5.8% on a year-on-year basis, smaller than the 7% initial estimate.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) then revised its 2020 growth outlook, expecting a full-year GDP between 6.5% and 6%, from its previous forecast of a 5% to 7% drop.

Policymakers remain optimistic, seeing a recovery of between 4% and 6% next year.

Investors' sentiment, on the other hand, has also stayed in positive territory, with hopes of the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine this year.

Top gainers for the day were Jardine Cycle & Carriage with 0.95 points to 4.55%, CapitaLand Limited with 0.07 to 2.30%, and Singtel with 0.05 to 2.07%.

Meanwhile, the FTSE Mid Cap advanced by 0.4%, while FTSE 100 dropped 0.28%, dragged by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca which closed at its worst day in about six months.