Singapore stocks gained for a fourth session on Thursday, led by lenders such as OCBC amidst improved global risk appetite following upbeat Chinese and U.S. economic news.
A survey showed growth in Chinese manufacturing sector unexpectedly accelerated in August, confounding forecasts for a slight slowdown, Reuters reported.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2 percent.
Wall Street got a boost on Wednesday when data showed the U.S. economy grew at an upwardly revised 3 percent annualized pace in the second quarter.
The Straits Times Index rose 0.37 percent or 12 points to 3,277. It ended 0.49 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date gains to about 13 percent.
Lenders such as United Overseas Bank gained 1.3 percent, DBS Group Holdings added 0.4 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp added 1.2 percent.
Singaporean conglomerate Sembcorp Industries rose 0.8 percent after increasing its stake in India-focused renewable energy, bringing its total ownership to 100 percent.
Cosco Shipping International received shareholders' approval for the 1.47 billion yuan (S$297.1 million) divestment of its loss-making yard operations. The stock closed unchanged after rising as much as 2 percent earlier in the day.
Among the laggards, Yongnam Holdings, a provider of engineering and construction services, fell about 7 percent despite securing three new contracts worth S$70 million.
Shares in China-based Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell as much as 8 percent after the company announced placement of up to 137 million shares at a discount to its last traded price.
About 2.2 billion shares worth S$1.5 billion changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 217 to 181.
