SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Local shares defied gloomy sentiment across much of the region to snap a three-day losing streak and inch higher on Wednesday.

The rise here came as other Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on the back of overnight falls on Wall Street, with investors awaiting the outcome of the United States Federal Reserve meeting.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 2.94 points to close at 3,141.75, driven largely by real estate investment trusts.

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) rose 2 per cent to $2.94 - the top performer for the day - after it reported on Tuesday a 17.2 per cent increase in distributable income for its first quarter. DBS Group Research raised its target price for MIT from $3.25 to $3.35 on Wednesday.

Jardine Matheson Holdings finished at the bottom of the STI performance table for the day, falling 2.4 per cent to US$60.40.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 264 to 216 with 1.35 billion shares worth $1.24 billion changing hands.

Golden Energy and Resources shares were the most actively traded by volume, rising 6.6 per cent to close at 40.5 cents after 60.9 million shares were done.

The company said on Sunday that it expects a "significant improvement" in revenue and earnings for the first half to June 30.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses mostly closed lower.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that Asian markets were likely to spend the day in "wait-and-see mode with a slight downward bias" ahead of the results of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting overnight.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.4 per cent, Australia's ASX200 fell 0.7 per cent on news of an extended lockdown in Sydney and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.6 per cent.

However, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.5 per cent, snapping a three-day losing streak that sent it down around 9 per cent.