Singapore shares close 17 points higher

SHARES in the local bourse shrugged off the astonishing outcome of the UK election, with the key Straits Times Index rising 17.14 points or 0.53 per cent to 3,254.19.

Some two billion shares worth S$1.1 billion were done with 247 counters up and 203 down.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble didn't pay off, said Franklin Templeton's head of European fixed income David Zahn.

"She had hoped that a resounding election victory and an increased majority in the House of Commons would give her a mandate to pursue her own political agenda and, in particular, strengthen her hand in negotiations to secure the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

"But those plans are in tatters and instead, slightly less than a year after the country voted to leave the EU, the United Kingdom has been plunged into further political uncertainty," he said, adding that so-called risky assets such as equities are likely to underperform.