Singapore shares higher in early trading on Friday

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Friday, the last trading day of the year, with the Straits Times Index up 6.62 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 2,895.77 at 9.09 am.

Some 140.1 million shares worth S$236.1 million changed hands with gainers outnumbering losers 103 to 38.

Index heavyweights DBS Bank and Singtel both went up $0.07 and $0.03 to $17.45 and $3.68 respectively.

The S&P 500 Index fell 0.66 point or 0.03 per cent to 2,249.26, the lowest close since Dec 8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13.90 points or 0.07 per cent to 19,819.78, maintaining a 14 per cent advance this year.

The euro spiked higher as the US dollar weakened for a second day and oil rebounded in thin end-of-year trading. Japanese and Australian stocks fell, Bloomberg reported.