The euro and yen maintained their gains against the dollar, while most equity markets outside Japan rallied after comments by the US Federal Reserve cooled expectations of an early summer hike.
While the central bank opened the door for a rise from six years of zero percent rates, it lowered its forecasts for economic growth and inflation and stressed it would remain cautious before making any move.
The news sent US stocks surging, providing a strong platform for regional indexes.
Hong Kong climbed 0.62 per cent, Sydney surged 1.64 per cent and Seoul added 0.24 per cent, while Singapore was up 0.35 per cent.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Thursday with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 14.97 points to 3,376.72 as at 9.02am, as the US Federal Reserve raised the odds of a rate hike in June.
Top gainers at the market's opening included Keppel Corporation, with US oil price gaining after the Fed statement.
Some 80 million shares worth S$163.5 million changed hands as at 9.02am on Thursday, with gainers outnumbering losers 106 to 36.
THERE were no surprises as far as Wednesday trading in the local stock market was concerned, as the Straits Times Index drifted to a net loss of 8.2 points at 3,361.75.
The broad market was much weaker than suggested by the index's modest fall, recording only 156 rises versus 300 falls. Turnover was one billion units worth S$1 billion.
The absence of interest was widely anticipated because markets have been waiting for the two-day US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to be concluded in the US on Wednesday. No interest rate hike is expected at this meeting, but traders would be watching for clues as to whether rates will be raised in June.
Among the more noticeable moves was Noble Group, which sank S$0.035 or almost 4 per cent to S$0.865 on volume of 57.2 million. The stock has now lost about 28 per cent since its accounting policies were attacked by a little-known financial firm called Iceberg Research.