Singapore shares open higher on Thursday

SINGAPORE shares opened higher on Thursday, up 31.75 points or 1.12 per cent to 2,875.96.

The banks - DBS, OCBC Bank, and UOB - were among the top value traded counters in the opening minutes of trade. As at 9.01am, 119.5 million shares worth S$96.2 million had changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 114 to 18.

The Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the US economy and kept its interest rate policy unchanged, citing the impact of the global slowdown and turmoil in world markets.