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.
At 0500 GMT, the Straits Times Index advanced 0.72 percent or 23 points to 3,260. It ended 0.29 percent lower on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 12 percent.
United Overseas Bank gained 1.4 percent, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp gained 0.5 percent and DBS Group Holdings added 0.8 percent each.
Shares in the aircraft maintenance company SIA Engineering rose 0.9 percent, recovering from a six-year low hit in the previous session.
Singtel gained 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.
Property developer City Developments rose 0.2 percent 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.
About 610 million shares worth S$500 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 211 to 104.
