Singapore stocks edged higher on Thursday, led by lenders such as DBS Group but gains were limited as Wall Street shares pulled back from record highs overnight.
Stocks in Asia were mixed following the biggest declines in seven weeks on Wall Street after a batch of soft earnings.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat. Australian stocks and South Korea's both inched down 0.1 percent.
At 0430 GMT, the Straits Times Index rose 0.2 percent or 7 points to 3,350. It ended 0.28 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 16 percent.
Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp rose 0.1 percent, United Overseas Bank gained 0.2 percent and DBS Group Holdings added 0.3 percent.
Shares in Singapore's second-largest lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp were sluggish after its nonperforming assets rose 15 percent in the quarter. The lender posted a 12 percent rise in net profit to S$1.06 billion in the three months ended September 30.
Jaya Holdings, which builds, manages and charters ships, slumped 14 percent after saying it would convene a board meeting for the proposed voluntary liquidation of the firm.
Singapore Exchange gained 0.5 percent after its first-quarter net profit rose 9 percent, powered by higher listings and increased revenue from equities and fixed income.
But Mapletree Commercial Trust lost 0.6 percent despite reporting a 9.3 percent in second-quarter distribution per unit.
Tung Lok Restaurants plunged 12 percent after saying it is expected to report a net loss for the half-year ended September 30 citing fall in revenue.
About 913 million shares worth S$568 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 183 to 173.
