KUALA LUMPUR (Nikkei Markets) -- Singapore shares Tuesday recouped all of its losses over the past two sessions and Malaysia stocks also rose thanks to a strong overnight rally in U.S. equities and rising oil prices.
The Straits Times Index ended 1.2% higher at 3071.10, while the FBM KLCI closed 0.2% higher at 1740.59. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) climbed 4% to lead gainers on the Singapore benchmark, while Genting Malaysia was the KLCI's biggest winner after rising 3%.
"The rally in the U.S. has given some confidence to investors that share prices may have hit a bottom after the recent selldown," said Mohd Faruk Abdul Karim, head of investment of Muamalat Invest in Malaysia.
Asian equities were broadly higher with the Nikkei Asia300 index advancing 0.3% following the biggest rally in U.S. equities since March. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.2% while Nasdaq Composite rose 2.9% following a slew of robust corporate earnings.
Oil prices meanwhile rose amid U.S.-Saudi Arabia tensions over the high-profile disappearance of a Saudi journalist and supply concerns after S&P Global Platts reported talks between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait over two shared oil fields had broken down. December Brent crude was up 0.8% at $81.41.
Petronas Chemicals Group rose 0.4% while the broader Bursa Malaysia Energy sectoral index was up 1.3%. In Singapore, Keppel Corp. and Sembcorp Industries rose 1.2% and 1.0% respectively.
"The STI, trading at one standard deviation below its 10-year average price-to-book, is attractive and may entice investors with a longer investment horizon," said KGI Securities' Head of Singapore Equities Research Joel Ng. "The STI also offers a 4% dividend yield, the highest in the region."
In earnings news, First Real Estate Investment Trust gained 1.7% after posting 0.5% increase in distribution per unit in the third quarter at 2.15 Singapore cents. Net property income was 5.4% higher on year to S$28.94 million.
Keppel Infrastructure Trust fell 1% after reporting third quarter net profit shrank 47.4% on year to S$8.2 million while revenue rose 1.1% to S$162 million. Distribution per unit for the July-to-September quarter was 0.93 Singapore cents, unchanged from the same period a year ago.
DiGi.Com added 1.4% in Malaysia after the telecom operator posted a 2.1% rise in third quarter net profit at 392.54 million ringgit ($94.2 million) aided by surging demand for high-speed Internet services. Revenue grew 1.9% to 1.60 billion ringgit.
Real estate developer and construction firm Gabungan AQRS surged 12.7% amid strong demand for one of its property projects. Chief Executive Azizan Jaafar told Nikkei Markets the firm had secured 1,400 bookings for 1,140 units in its Puchong housing project.
- Alexander Winifred and Joannah Perez
