The month of March was a testament to the hard fight between the STI bulls and bears: with the former attempting to take the index back above the 3,000 mark on a weekly basis. Even on days where the STI looked to have convincingly fallenbelow the 3,000 mark i.e. falling to a low of 2,913.16 on March 7, it managed to rebound strongly to trade above the level again within six days, at 3,025.84 on March 15.

Macro scene looking positive
This late rally in Asia has come on the back of positive news stemming from the U.S. Specifically, on Bernanke’s comments on Monday night that accommodative monetary policy is still needed to foster a recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

Last night, while the U.S published a drop in Conference Board’s March confidence index to 70.2 from a revised 71.6 reading in February (higher than initially reported), it is nonetheless a level that is near its strongest in a year and had come in higher than the forecast by economists polled on Bloomberg.

The S&P 500 has risen 3.4% month-to-date and like the STI, looks poised for its fourth straight monthly gain, the longest winning streak since 2009. According to Bloomberg, the S&P 500 is currently trading at its highest valuation level since July 2011 at 14.6 times reported earnings.

Elsewhere, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s remarks that she is prepared to let the region’s temporary and permanent rescue funds run in parallel, is also providing relief to the markets on the ongoing debt crisis.

Leveraging on your view via STI warrants
STI warrants give investors the opportunity to leverage their views on the STI without the need to stock pick. Investors anticipating a further run on the Singapore stock market can potentially take a leveraged exposure with STI call warrants, while investors who are sceptical or bearish can take a leveraged exposure with STI put warrants.