The Singapore stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,085-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing Covid concerns and surging oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the industrials and mixed performances from the financials and properties.
For the day, the index improved 12.11 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,085.08 after trading between 3,079.34 and 3,101.75. Volume was 880.3 million shares worth 727.3 million Singapore dollars. There were 255 gainers and 177 decliners.
Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust dropped 0.51 percent, while City Developments fell 0.15 percent, Comfort DelGro gathered 0.74 percent, Dairy Farm International surged 3.80 percent, DBS Group eased 0.03 percent, Genting Singapore climbed 1.33 percent, Hongkong Land soared 2.76 percent, Keppel Corp jumped 1.39 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust advanced 1.09 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation collected 0.09 percent, SATS perked 0.53 percent, SembCorp Industries spiked 2.05 percent, Singapore Airlines accelerated 1.66 percent, Singapore Exchange rose 0.22 percent, Singapore Press Holdings and SingTel both shed 0.43 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rallied 1.37 percent, Thai Beverage sank 0.76 percent, United Overseas Bank was up 0.04 percent, Wilmar International gained 0.25 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding added 0.78 percent and Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Venture Corporation were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and accelerated into the close, finishing near daily highs.
The Dow surged 560.54 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 35,492.70, while the NASDAQ spiked 360.14 points or 2.40 percent to close at 15,341.09 and the S&P 500 jumped 81.21 points or 1.78 percent to end at 4,649.23.
Bargain hunting contributed to the strength on Wall Street as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of recent weakness. Monday's steep drop dragged the tech-heavy NASDAQ to its lowest closing level in over two months.
The rebound followed a report from Moderna (MRNA) about the effectiveness of a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant - which said a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine increased antibody levels against Omicron.
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher Tuesday as prices rebounded from losses in the previous two sessions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up by $2.51 or 3.7 percent at $71.12 a barrel.