Asian stock markets finally shook off their despondency Wednesday (February 3), and bubbled over with festive spirit ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations.

Bourses across the region made their biggest gains in a month as investors took heart from two straight days of triple-digit point gains made on Wall Street.

Until Wednesday's rebound, some pessimists had wondered if the arrival of the Year of the Golden Tiger would pass with a mere whimper and not the roar of the traditional festive rally.

They may yet be right, if Wednesday's upswing proves to be a one-day wonder.

But with just over a week to the final countdown to Chinese New Year, investors seem to be in party mode after a gloomy two-week correction which saw region-wide prices slumping 8 per cent.

Fittingly, Shanghai led the charge. The composite index there leapt 2.36 per cent, as investors shrugged off the blues brought on by fears over Beijing's plans to curb bank lending to businesses.

The euphoria was contagious, spreading rapidly across the region. Hong Kong managed a sharp rally as the Hang Seng recorded its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than two months, surging 449.9 points or 2.22 per cent.

In Singapore, the exuberance arrested an almost uninterrupted 10-day slide by the Straits Times Index. The benchmark made a welcome change of direction, heading north by 43.97 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 2,764.84.

"Spring is in the air. It is auspicious for markets to rally one day before Li Chun - the first day of spring on the Chinese calendar," said UOB Kay Hian remisier Charlie Lim.

Stocks leading the bull charge included local lenders such as DBS Group Holdings, up 42 cents to S$14.50, United Overseas Bank, 44 cents better at S$18.54, and OCBC Bank, rising 16 cents to S$8.35.

Financial stocks did well across the region. In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings gained 1.4 per cent and giant mainland lender Industrial & Commercial Bank of China jumped 2.3 per cent.

The speed and scale of the rebound prompted stock pundits to express hope that the rally has legs, as the traditional Chinese New Year 'feel good' factor buoys the stock market.

"Big companies are experiencing the recovery and they will soon be joined by smaller companies. I am upbeat on the outlook for the year," said Phillip Securities' managing director Loh Hoon Sun.

Another positive sign, say analysts, is the recent spate of stock market purchases made by foreign investors who leapt on bargains as the market corrected.

"Foreigners appear to like this long-awaited market correction. About US$371 million flowed into funds investing in Asian equities last week,'' said Citigroup strategist Elaine Chu.

For starry-eyed investors who look to other worldly sources for investing inspiration, Wednesday's rally marked the start of a solid trading year.

"In the previous Year of the Golden Tiger, 1950, the Dow Jones Industrial Index gained significantly and ended on a high note," said CLSA Securities in its 'Fengshui Index' - a tongue-in-cheek guide to the year ahead.

"Once on a tiger's back, it is hard to get off. But if you hang on, it is certainly the best place to be," the foreign brokerage added, predicting that a volatile but 'mighty interesting' trading year lies ahead, with "some roller-coaster rides week to week and even day to day".

CLSA's cheeky outlook for the year: Markets may start with a surge as the Year of the Tiger starts on February 14, followed by a decline and then a rebound in June. Expect a dip after that, before another upswing when the Tiger roars as its year draws to a close in January.