STI gains 0.2% as traders turn risk-on

SHARE prices in the local bourse edged higher on Thursday for the second straight day, fuelled once again by overnight gains on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index (STI) finished 6.65 points or 0.2 per cent up at 2,773.31, broadly in line with the rest of Asia.

Risk-on mode returned to traders in Asia, buoyed by higher oil prices and strong US housing data. Wall Street was lifted by bank and energy stocks and a growing sense that the US economy was strong enough to put up with a rate hike. Easing concerns over the Greek debt crisis also helped improve sentiments.