The Singapore stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,115-point plateau and it figures to add to its winnings on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on easing virus concerns and surging crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and the industrial stocks.
For the day, the index added 14.39 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 3,116.32 after trading between 3,103.96 and 3,135.65. Volume was 1.39 billion shares worth 1.15 billion Singapore dollars. There were 268 decliners and 199 gainers.
Among the actives, Genting Singapore surged 1.97 percent, while Wilmar International soared 1.71 percent, Comfort DelGro spiked 1.43 percent, DBS Group and Singapore Exchange both accelerated 1.08 percent, United Overseas Bank jumped 1.06 percent, SATS retreated 0.77 percent, Dairy Farm International declined 0.66 percent, Mapletree Logistics and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both collected 0.53 percent, SembCorp Industries climbed 0.50 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust both sank 0.49 percent, Singapore Press Holdings dropped 0.43 percent, SingTel advanced 0.42 percent, Keppel Corp added 0.39 percent, Hongkong Land shed 0.36 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering lost 0.26 percent, Singapore Airlines rose 0.21 percent and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, City Developments, Ascendas REIT and Thai Beverage were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened mostly higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed.
The Dow surged 646.95 points or 1.87 percent to finish at 35,227.03, while the NASDAQ advanced 139.68 points or 0.93 percent to end at 15,225.15 and the S&P 500 gained 53.24 points or 1.17 percent to close at 4,591.67.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus amid indications the new strain causes milder symptoms.
President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN it is too early to make definitive statements but said early signals regarding the severity of Omicron are encouraging.
Meanwhile, the jump by the Dow comes amid standout gains by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Boeing (BA) and Intel (INTC).
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher Monday as Saudi Arabia's Aramco hiked prices of crude exported to Asia and the U.S. and amid easing concerns about Omicron. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for surged $3.23 or 4.9 percent at $69.49 a barrel.