Regional indices hit new highs

REGIONAL indices powered ahead on Tuesday on the back of a rally in oil and other commodities, with concerns of US President Donald Trump's two-day visit to South Korea taking a back seat.

Shortly before 2pm, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, lifted by gains in Chinese tech group Tencent, was trading in the region of 28,962, up by more than 365 points or 1.28 per cent, making this the highest in a decade.

Meanwhile, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei was up by over 367 points or 1.63 per cent intraday to the region of 22,912 - the highest since January 1992 - on the back of higher energy and financial stocks.

Back home, the three banking stocks pushed the Straits Times Index (STI) up 31 points or 0.93 per cent to 3,413.30 at 2.01pm - the highest in more than two years.

Down under, Australian shares broke above 6,000 points for the first time since the global financial crisis, pushing past a psychological barrier amid optimism about the world economy.