Asian stocks rallied, with the regional index headed for its biggest quarterly advance since 2012 amid optimism over global economic stimulus. The dollar maintained gains, while crude oil extended losses into a third day.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a three-day drop, rising 0.5 per cent by 9.58am in Tokyo to be set for a 6.8 per cent advance over the past three months. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures added 0.1 per cent following a second day of gains in the US gauge.
Japanese and Australian indexes jumped more than 0.7 per cent, with the yen and Australia's dollar near one-week lows. The South Korean won weakened 0.3 per cent. US oil slid 0.9 per cent, while gold held two days of declines.
Global equities have climbed almost 3 per cent this year as central banks from Europe to Asia bolster stimulus to address slowing growth. China announced measures aimed at stemming a property slump Monday after central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said more can be done to support the economy.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index up 12.19 points or 0.35 per cent to 3,466.45 as at 9.01am, following rebounds in US and European markets.
Top gainers in early morning trade included Jardine C&C, DBS and Keppel Corp.
A total of 110.2 million shares worth S$274.3 million had changed hands as at 9.01am, on the last day of the first quarter of 2015. Gainers outnumbered losers 105 to 36.
One gauge of market activity - or quality if you prefer - is the average value per unit traded. This is obtained by dividing the dollar value by turnover, the resulting number giving an idea of where the market's energies or interests were for the session in question.
For most of the first quarter of 2014 this statistic was well under S$0.50, indicating a preference for lower-priced or penny stocks. In the early part of this year, the figure hovered around S$1, which indicated a shift towards higher-priced issues - a shift that could roughly be interpreted to show a move from low- to higher-quality issues.
In Monday's session, however, dollar volume of S$959 million from unit volume of 1.6 billion yielded an average value of S$0.60 per unit traded, an uncomfortable result for those who were hoping the shift to higher-priced stocks would continue.
The Straits Times Index in the meantime, managed a 4.16 points gain at 3,454.26 on the second last trading day of the quarter, not a great outcome for those who bought at the end of last week in anticipation of a window-dressing push, but then again, there is still one more day to go. It was the index's fifth consecutive rise and the advance-decline score was 228-188 excluding warrants.