MARKETS in Asia were in a buoyant mood on Tuesday, with the Shanghai benchmark closing at a near 13-month high and the South Korean benchmark ending with 13 straight sessions of gains.

The positive mood was also felt in Singapore as the Straits Times Index (STI) pared Monday's dip to close at 3,332.04, up 6.18 points or 0.2 per cent.

Trading clocked in at 1.31 billion securities, 3.5 per cent over the daily average in the first three months of 2019. Total turnover came to S$1.06 billion, higher than the January-to-March daily average by 3.4 per cent.

Decliners slightly outpaced advancers at 206 to 200.

Compared to the broader market, the benchmark index fared better on the day, lifted by tech and banking counters.

Nine of the 30 blue chips that make up the STI ended in the red. Among them, Golden-Agri Resources was the blue-chip index's most traded. It dropped one Singapore cent or 3.2 per cent to end at S$0.30 with 35.7 million shares changing hands.

Singapore bellwether banking counters all ended Tuesday's session in positive territory. DBS Group Holdings closed S$0.15 or 0.6 per cent up at S$27.16. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank finished two Singapore cents or 0.2 per cent higher at S$11.69 and United Overseas Bank added five Singapore cents or 0.2 per cent to end at S$26.66.

Electronics manufacturing services firm Venture Corporation added S$0.73 or 3.9 per cent to close at S$19.35. A trader told The Business Times that tech counters in the Singapore market were "likely led by the tech rally in Chinese equity markets on Tuesday".

Among non-STI counters, Asian Pay Television Trust continued to be the Singapore bourse's most traded and one of its main gainers on the day. The business trust that is focused on pay-TV businesses surged 3.2 Singapore cents or 20.4 per cent to end at 18.9 cents on 88.4 million units traded.

The counter has leapt 31.7 per cent since an announcement by its trustee-manager before market open on Monday that it is undertaking an independent strategic review of the trust and its main asset, Taiwan Broadband Communications Group.

CWT Limited's parent missed interest and fee payments, triggering a cross default under a HK$1.4 billion (S$241 million) loan facility. This led to a sell-off by investors in three Singapore real estate investment trust counters where CWT is a major tenant.

Cache Logistics Trust, which has the heaviest exposure to CWT Limited, saw its units shed four Singapore cents or 5.3 per cent to close at 71.5 cents. Meanwhile, Mapletree Logistics Trust units closed six Singapore cents or 4 per cent down at S$1.42 and AIMS APAC Reit units dipped two Singapore cents or 1.4 per cent to close at S$1.39.

DBS Group Research analysts said in a report released on Tuesday that it does not expect major near-term earnings disruptions to the Reits as security deposits made by the tenants limited downside risks.