Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) pared Wednesday's losses in what was a rare ho-hum session by recent standards, closing 31.88 points, or 1.3 per cent, higher to 2,571.32 yesterday.
Of the STI's 30 counters, seven finished in the red.
Down the road, market sentiment will continue to depend on whether Covid-19 infection rates have peaked globally.
Investors in Asia will be weighing the latest US jobless claims figures for clues to the health of the US labour force and whether the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other key producers can reach a deal to cut output.
Benchmarks elsewhere in Asia were mostly up, with China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand posting gains.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.38 per cent, while the Thai index added 0.4 per cent after two of the country's top banks, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank, cut their loan rates by 40 basis points.
The Nikkei 225 Index has bucked the trend in back-to-back sessions, dipping 0.04 per cent to 19,345.77.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage was the best-performing STI constituent on the day, adding 4 per cent to US$20.42. Another strong performer was Singapore's largest telco Singtel, which closed 3.8 per cent up at $2.71.
The banks also outperformed the benchmark. DBS Group Holdings gained 1.6 per cent to $19.14, OCBC Bank climbed 1.6 per cent up at $8.95, and United Overseas Bank ended at $20.17, up 1.4 per cent.
Among real estate investment trusts (Reits), a late dip saw units in CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) finish 0.7 per cent lower at $1.46.
UOB Kay Hian analysts Jonathan Koh and Loke Peihao said that while demand for office space has been affected by the coronavirus-induced slowdown, they are expecting office Reits like CCT and Keppel Reit (up 3.3 per cent to 95 cents) to be more resilient than their retail-and hospitality-focused counterparts.
Shares in Sunningdale Tech jumped 5.1 per cent to 92 cents after receiving an upgrade from CGS-CIMB to "add", with a target price of $1.09.
CGS-CIMB analyst William Tng pointed out that at current levels, recent share price declines have priced in "some" of the negatives brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Across the Singapore market, advancers trumped decliners 334 to 130, with 1.69 billion securities valued at $1.43 billion traded.
