Singapore shares close 0.5% higher

RISK appetite in the Singapore bourse regained some heft from the much-awaited speech by China's President Xi Jinping that helped relieve some fears over a global trade war.

It was enough to push the key Straits Times Index higher by 16.4 points or 0.5 per cent to notch its fourth straight day of gains and finish at 3,466.38 on Tuesday.

"Appetite for risk was bolstered as Mr Xi offered plans to further open up the second largest economy. Mr Xi's public speech at the Boao Forum came days after the US and China exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs threats, which had kept investors on edge for several weeks," said FXTM chief market strategist Hussein Sayed.

"Mr Xi's speech calmed markets by responding to all of Donald Trump's concerns, without even mentioning him. I think what was achieved today is likely to reduce trade tensions and buy some extra time," he added.

Tuesday's turnover on the local bourse came in at 2.1 billion shares worth S$1.4 billion versus Monday's nearly 2 billion shares worth S$1.2 billion. Gainers outpaced losers with 254 counters up and 174 counters down.

US stocks had a roller-coaster ride overnight Monday with all three key indices giving up a big part of earlier gains on news of the FBI's raid on US President Donald Trump's lawyer's office as investors began to worry about the implication on the President himself. Still, the indices managed to close higher.