STI shrugs off trade worries to end higher on Friday

SHRUGGING off news that the US and China are "miles and miles" away from reaching a trade deal, stock markets across Asia rode gains in US tech stocks to close mostly higher on Friday.

Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) continued heading up from the day before, gaining 11.52 points or 0.36 per cent to close at 3,202.25. However, heavier losses earlier in the week meant that the benchmark ended down 22.09 points or 0.69 per cent from last Friday's close of 3,224.34.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday tried to moderate expectations for the Jan 30-31 trade talks, telling CNBC: "There's been a lot of anticipatory work done, but we're miles and miles from getting a resolution and that …