Singapore shares open 17.8 points higher on Thursday

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Thursday with the Straits Times Index up 17.82 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 2,939.13 at 9.02am, as continued optimism in the US stock market spilled over to the Asian markets.

Some 43.1 million shares worth S$67.2 million changed hands with gainers beating losers 92 to 37.

The banking rally seen on Wednesday's trading session in Singapore continued, with UOB, OCBC Bank and DBS among the gainers at the opening bell on Thursday.