sgx
SGX Logo. Reuters

Singapore stocks edged slightly higher on Thursday as investors paused after the index jumped to more than a two-year high in the previous session.

Asian shares held near decade peaks following another record breaking day on Wall Street.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3 percent and in close reach of a 10-year high set the previous day.

Wall Street rose overnight thanks to a rally by videogame makers, with all three major indexes closing at record highs.

At 0600 GMT, the Straits Times Index edged up 0.08 percent or 3 points to 3,423. It ended 0.24 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 19 percent.

DBS Group Holdings rose 2 percent while United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Bank added 0.7 percent each.

Singapore Airlines extended gains and was up 0.7 percent after its second-quarter net profit jumped about 193 percent, helped by strong performance of Parent Airline and SIA Cargo.

Noble Group fell 1.8 percent ahead of its quarterly earnings later in the day.

Singapore Telecommunications reported a 197 percent surge in second-quarter profit, boosted by gains from the divestment of 75.2 percent of its stake in NetLink Trust in July this year. But its shares lost 0.5 percent.

Engineering services provider Boustead Projects posted a 31 percent rise in second-quarter profit, helped by improved gross margin and cost savings. Its shares ended unchanged at S$0.865.

About 2.5 billion shares worth S$1.4 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 288 to 158.