SINGAPORE: Singapore shares rose at midday on Tuesday, boosted by gains in US shares and on a rally in commodity stocks such as Noble Group which posted strong 2010 earnings.
By the midday break, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 1.61 percent, or 48.49 points, at 3,059. The total value of shares traded in the morning session was S$999.2 million.
But local traders said the STI may give up some of its gains in the afternoon session as investors book profit.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average rose nearly 1 percent, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 percent. The MSCI index of Asia-ex Japan stocks was up 0.8 percent.
"Regionally Nikkei has been up pretty strong, and Shanghai has been rallying. We also had a good close in the U.S," said Tey Tze Ming, a market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets.
Shares of Singapore-listed commodities firm Noble Group rose as much as 6.3 percent after it said its fourth-quarter net profit rose 192 percent year-on-year to $247.4 million.
"After an acquisition, assets do take a gestation period before they start contributing meaningfully, and more of them are coming on stream. They should boost volumes and the group's performance going forward," said Lee Wen Ching, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.
At midday, Noble shares were trading at S$2.18 on a volume of 30 million shares.
Shares of palm oil firm Golden Agri-Resources rose as much as 8.5 percent after it reported strong fourth quarter earnings and its CEO said demand for palm oil is expected to be robust.
At midday, Golden Agri shares were up 7.7 percent at S$0.70 on a volume of 155.8 million shares.
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