Singapore stocks gain; SIA Engineering recovers from 6-year low

Asian shares were a tad firmer on Thursday, taking their cues from strong U.S. data. Wall Street's three major stock indexes hit fresh highs on Wednesday as did MSCI's all-country world stock index.

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SGX Logo. Reuters

Singapore stocks recovered after two sessions of declines on Thursday, led by gains in financials while positive Asian sentiment also supported risk appetite.

Asian shares were a tad firmer on Thursday, taking their cues from strong U.S. data.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat with Hong Kong and South Korea, as well as mainland China, closed for public holidays.

Wall Street's three major stock indexes hit fresh highs on Wednesday as did MSCI's all-country world stock index.

The Straits Times Index advanced 0.78 percent or 25 points to 3,261. It ended 0.29 percent lower on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 12 percent.

United Overseas Bank gained 1.7 percent, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp gained 0.8 percent and DBS Group Holdings added 1.2 percent.

Shares in the aircraft maintenance company SIA Engineering rose 0.3 percent, recovering from a six-year low hit in the previous session.

Property developer City Developments ended little changed after its unit and joint venture partner Hong Realty purchased Amber Park condominium for S$906.7 million.

But Alliance Mineral Assets declined 1.7 percent. The company said it entered into a deal with Hong Kong-based Burwill Holdings' unit to place A$19.6 million of shares after auditors flagged uncertainty about the mining firm's ability to operate as a going concern.

Singtel fell 0.3 percent. The telecom major said it will bring in the Pixel 2 XL device as Google's exclusive telco partner, and the device will be launched on November 15.

About 1.2 billion shares worth S$957 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 258 to 158.

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