Data showing a modest improvement in August's international visitor numbers to Singapore and better output figures for Chinese manufacturers gave local investors something to latch on to yesterday.
The buying mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) up 34.12 points or 1.38 per cent to 2,500.74 with 1.1 billion shares worth $918.8 million changing hands. Gainers thumped losers 203 to 161.
Investors were also buoyed by a robust performance on Wall Street overnight, with shares rising after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said negotiators will attempt "one more serious try" on a fiscal stimulus deal.
Most of the STI's 30 index constituents finished in the black with just Mapletree Logistics Trust and Singapore Exchange staying flat.
The index's top performer was Dairy Farm International, which added 3.45 per cent to US$3.90, coming on news that the sterling equivalent of its 2020 interim dividend will be paid on Oct 14.
The second best performer was property developer UOL, whose subsidiary United Industrial Corporation (UIC) said on Tuesday that president and chief executive Lim Hock San had retired on Sept 30.
Chief operating officer Jonathan Eu will oversee the company's operations and expansion strategy, working with UOL Group CEO Liam Wee Sin. UOL has a more than 50 per cent stake in UIC. UOL shares added 2.71 per cent to $6.83.
Sembcorp Marine topped the most active list for the third straight day, adding 5.48 per cent to 15.4 cents on hopes of a potential merger with Keppel's offshore and marine unit. Around 192.3 million shares changed hands.
Chinese and Hong Kong's markets were closed for holidays.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading yesterday citing technical problems. Malaysia's KLCI ended 0.53 per cent lower while Australian stocks rose 1 per cent.
Analysts said markets were getting used to the idea of Democrat Joe Biden winning the US election on Nov 3, against the pro-business, anti-regulation Donald Trump.
The view was summed up by former Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who tweeted: "... the stock market doesn't seem too upset at the prospect of Biden winning, despite Trump's more market-friendly policies. Perhaps folks think their stocks... will do better with higher taxes and increased regulation than with nastiness and scorched earth."
• With additional information from Agence France-Presse
