Singapore shares rose by midday, extending gains for the fifth straight session, as weak manufacturing data around the world spurred hopes that central banks could introduce more measures to help support the global economy.

At 0341 GMT, the benchmark Straits Times Index was up 0.9 percent at 2,936.74, led by strong gains in palm oil firm Golden Agri-Resources, which rose 2.9 percent to S$0.705. "There's a spillover euphoria from what happened in Europe.

The market may be anticipating that the European Central Bank could cut rates," said Joshua Tan, a strategist at Phillip Securities.

Many market players also believe continued economic weakness will push the Federal Reserve to roll out another round of quantitative easing.