The Singapore stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 80 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,250-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with support expected from the oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and properties, while the industrials were mixed.
For the day, the index gained 19.32 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 3,246.37 after trading between 3,222.56 and 3,249.07. Volume was 1.13 billion shares worth 1.45 billion Singapore dollars. There were 244 gainers and 233 decliners.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dropped 0.69 percent, while City Developments perked 0.59 percent, Comfort DelGro climbed 0.75 percent, Dairy Farm International gained 0.35 percent, DBS Group accelerated 1.00 percent, Genting Singapore gathered 0.65 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.39 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust sank 0.55 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust tumbled 1.69 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose 0.08 percent, SATS soared 2.05 percent, SembCorp Industries jumped 0.94 percent, Singapore Airlines rallied 0.80 percent, Singapore Exchange lost 0.52 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering added 0.53 percent, SingTel surged 3.86 percent, United Overseas Bank collected 0.58 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.70 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.53 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Singapore Press Holdings, Thai Beverage and UOL Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and were directionless through the morning but accelerated into the green in the afternoon, finishing near daily highs.
The Dow jumped 183.15 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 36,252.02, while the NASDAQ surged 210.62 points or 1.41 percent to end at 15,153.82 and the S&P 500 gained 42.78 points or 0.92 percent to close at 4,713.07.
The turnaround on Wall Street came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on his nomination for another term. Powell highlighted elevated inflation as a result of supply chain issues and said the Fed would use all of its tools to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.
While Powell's remarks have been described as hawkish, they are not seen as indicating the Fed will be more aggressive than already suggested by the minutes of the central bank's latest meeting.
Treasury yields moved to the downside in reaction to Powell's testimony, with the benchmark ten-year yield continuing to give ground after reaching its highest intraday level since January 2020 on Monday.
Crude oil prices moved sharply higher Tuesday, lifting the most active crude futures contract to the highest settlement in about two months. Hopes that the spread of the Omicron variant will not derail the global economy and adversely impact energy demand supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February spiked $2.99 or 3.8 percent at $81.22 a barrel.