Singapore's stock market closed higher on Monday, as the city-state's business confidence improved in 2024 and markets anticipating the incoming Donald Trump administration.

The Straits Times Index (STI), a key benchmark for the Singapore Exchange, ranged between 3,805.50 and 3,826.82 throughout the day. It ended the session at 3,821.84, up 20.01 points or 0.53% compared to Friday's close.

In economic news, S&P Global Singapore Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) came in at 51.5 in December 2024, down from 53.9 in November, indicating a twenty-second successive monthly improvement in business conditions in Singapore's private sector, according to data released by S&P Global.

In company news, shares of Serial Achieva (SGX:XHV) surged over 14% after its 55% owned subsidiary, Achieva Tech Allianz, secured a contract worth $15.6 million for a new artificial intelligence training cluster.

Raffles Education's (SGX:NR7) shares surged nearly 6% after its unit, Langfang Tonghui Education Consulting, entered into a sale and purchase agreement to dispose of a property that includes the land use rights of a land and a commercial building located in Hebei, China, to Langfang Fangzhi Education Consulting.

NIO (SGX:NIO) shares gained 3.7%. Deutsche Bank expects Nio to deliver 450,000 units in 2025, double the 221,970 units it delivered in 2024.

OCBC (SGX:O39) shares rose 1.3% on Monday. The bank bought back 243,000 shares on Friday for SG$4 million, according to a same-day filing on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The shares were acquired at a price of SG$16.59 each. Since the start of its buyback program on April 30, 2024, the bank has repurchased 11 million shares, or 0.24% of its issued shares, excluding treasury stock.

Meanwhile, Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX:M44U) was up nearly 1% at the close after entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with an unrelated third party to divest its Subang 2 property in Malaysia for 31.5 million ringgit.