The Singapore stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 45 points or 1.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just above the 3,305-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism for earnings. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and now tech shares are expected to lead the Asian markets higher.
The STI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following missed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and industrials.
For the day, the index perked 4.06 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 3,307.13 after trading between 3,307.13 and 3,344.66. Volume was 2 billion shares worth 1.2 billion Singapore dollars. There were 244 decliners and 211 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT was down 0.35 percent, while CapitaLand Investment sank 0.75 percent, City Developments jumped 0.73 percent, Comfort DelGro improved 0.67 percent, Dairy Farm International rose 0.36 percent, Fraser Logistics shed 0.69 percent, Hongkong Land soared 0.84 percent, Keppel Corp spiked 0.76 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust lost 0.53 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust slid 0.37 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.50 percent, SATS eased 0.23 percent, SembCorp Industries surged 3.82 percent, Singapore Airlines rallied 0.74 percent, Singapore Exchange advanced 0.61 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering and United Overseas Bank both gained 0.50 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 0.71 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.84 percent and Wilmar International, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Genting Singapore, DBS Group, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, SingTel and UOL Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending sharply higher.
The Dow surged 499.51 points or 1.45 percent to finish at 34,911.20, while the NASDAQ soared 287.30 points or 2.15 percent to end at 13,619.66 and the S&P 500 jumped 70.52 points or 1.61 percent to close at 4,462.21.
The rally on Wall Street reflected largely upbeat earnings news from companies like Hasbro (HAS) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), although insurance giant Travelers (TRV) moved sharply lower despite earnings that beat estimates.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said new residential construction saw modest growth in March, while building permits also unexpectedly bounced higher.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on concerns about outlook for energy demand following a downward revision in global growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down by $5.65 or 5.2 percent at $102.56 a barrel.