By all accounts, it was a field of green at the closing bell yesterday, as a combination of Fed reassurance, easing trade war fears and yuan stabilisation guided global equity markets higher.
Asian markets were in high spirits on the back of a record lead from Wall Street, as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell made his Jackson Hole debut last Friday.
Gradual rate hikes are the best way to protect the US economy and keep inflation in check, he said at the symposium, adding that the US economy is "strong", with no risk of overheating. Inflation was also near the Fed's 2 per cent target.
Traders expect the Fed will continue to raise interest rates next month and in December, a view echoed by DBS analysts in a note yesterday morning.
Fears of a trade war between the United States and Mexico were cooled as negotiators were seen to be reaching common ground on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In Asia, shares in China ended on a two-week high, boosted by a stronger yuan, as the Chinese central bank stepped in to tweak its currency management mechanism.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng also tracked mainland shares to end 2.2 per cent higher, it best one-day performance in six months.
Over in Malaysia, the FTSE Bursa Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.17 per cent to end at a three-month high, lifted by financials and materials.
In Singapore, euphoria from global markets sent the Straits Times Index (STI) up by 0.39 per cent, ending the day 12.62 points higher at 3,225.62. Advancers outnumbered decliners 219 to 163, with 1.15 billion shares worth $764.3 million changing hands in relatively subdued trading.
Of the three local banks, OCBC Bank posted the highest percentage gain, at 0.9 per cent, up 10 cents to $11.26. UOB added 0.22 per cent or six cents to $26.92, and DBS Bank rose 0.2 per cent or five cents to $25.19.
In the telecoms sector, Singtel, after spiking some 7 per cent last Thursday, retreated 0.31 per cent yesterday to $3.19, which was still higher than its year-to-date low of $3.02 in early July. StarHub closed 1.8 per cent down at $1.63, while M1 dipped 1.24 per cent to $1.59.
Developer Guocoland rose 1.58 per cent or three cents to close at $1.93 after announcing it had hired Lafarge Malaysia's Mr Lim Yoke Tuan as its new chief financial officer. Its shares are down some 16 per cent in the year to date.
