A sea of green has returned to battered bourses and there is a growing belief among analysts, dealers and investors that the worst of the market carnage is over.

'Dawn has broken and the sun is slowly coming out,' said Mr Gabriel Yap, senior dealing director at DMG & Partners Securities. 'This is turning out to be a powerful V-shaped rally.'

The local benchmark indicator Straits Times Index (STI) has surged more than 50 per cent to 2,238.21 points since falling to a near six- year low of 1,456.95 on March 9.

It is now near a seven-month high, back to its level last October before the record global market massacre that month.

The STI's comeback has been described by experts as 'unbelievable', 'frantic' and 'powerful', mirroring the robust recovery seen in other key Asian bourses.

The rally was sparked by signs that the global economy was picking up. Earlier last week, a private survey showed that China's manufacturing sector last month posted its strongest performance in nine months. There were also indications that the worst was over for the badly pummelled United States financial system.

Market volumes in Singapore have revived as fund managers and retail investors joined in the buying spree. Last Friday, 5.18 billion shares worth $3.02 billion were traded, a level last seen in July 2007.

Mr Najeeb Jarhom, AmFraser Securities' senior vice- president of research, said: 'A bottom for 2009 should finally be in place at 1,456.'

Read the full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Time.