Local shares inched into positive territory yesterday as investors here and across the region decided to take a step back and see how the new Omicron variant plays out.

The tentative mood left the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.3 per cent, or 9.82 points at 3,101.93.

Gainers beat losers 269 to 194 with 1.04 billion shares worth $1.13 billion changing hands.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said regional markets seemed to have taken a wait-and-see approach despite the overnight Wall Street rally, with S&P 500 up 1.4 per cent and Nasdaq, 0.8 per cent. "The US releases non-farm payrolls (Friday) night and assuming the Omicron news is less 'end of the world', a print above 550,000 jobs should see the faster Fed-taper trade reassert itself," he said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1 per cent while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.8 per cent, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1 per cent. The Jakarta Composite lost 0.7 per cent. Australian shares stayed in the black, thanks to banks and energy stocks.

The ASX200 closed up 0.22 per cent - down 0.52 per cent for the week but ahead 9.93 per cent since the beginning of this year.

The STI's biggest loser was CapitaLand Investment, shedding 1.2 per cent to close at $3.33. At the top of the table was Sats, which gained 2.6 per cent to $3.92.

Across the wider market, Sembcorp Marine was the most traded counter by volume. It closed flat at 8.3 cents after 43 million shares were traded. The company announced yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary secured a contract to design the world's first green ammonia-fuelled tanker.

DBS Bank lost 0.3 per cent to $31.47, OCBC Bank fell 0.1 per cent to $11.29 while UOB gained 0.5 per cent to $26.32.

Next week promises to be equally choppy as investors look for guidance. AS AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said in Sydney: "The market's trying to work out what Omicron means."