Singapore stocks climbed to their highest level since 2007 as the prospect of lower interest rates lifted the city-state’s real estate investment trusts, and boosted the appeal of the high-yielding market.

The decision by the Fed's policy-setting committee to cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020 was prefaced by an unusual amount of market uncertainty as to how much the central bank would lower its benchmark rate from a two-decade high of 5.25% to 5.5%, where it has stood since July 2023.

In the end, the Fed decided to go big. The Federal Reserve lowered its key interest rate by a hefty half percentage point Wednesday, moving ahead with its first rate cut in four years and cheering markets that expected an emphatic move amid a softening jobs picture.