Singapore share prices closed 0.1 percent higher Friday on gains in selected blue chips, dealers said. The Straits Times Index added 2.15 points to 2,286.55. Volume traded totalled 880 million shares worth 707 million Singapore dollars (426 million US), down from 947 million shares valued at 843 million dollars on Thursday.
There were 255 rising issues, 199 losers and 593 issues were even.
Dealers said the Singapore market, like other Asian markets, was holding well despite a Financial Times report that al Qaeda was planning an attack on a major financial centre in the region such as Tokyo or the city-state.
"I think the market was also up because regional markets were quite well behaved and did not behave unduly," a dealer at a local brokerage said.
Gains in blue chips like CapitaLand and Creative Technology pulled the main index higher, dealers said.
CapitaLand gained three cents to 2.89 while fellow property developer Keppel Land rose two cents to 3.42 but City Developments dropped 25 cents to 8.70.
Consumer electronic giant Creative Technology advanced 80 cents to 12.90 on hopes the worst was over following a massive loss in the June quarter while Chartered Semiconductor gained one cent to 1.16 and STATS ChipPac was stable at 1.08.
In the banking sector, DBS gained 10 cents to 15.50, United Overseas Bank rose 20 cents to 14.30 but Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropped five cents to 6.25. Singapore Airlines lost 10 cents to 11.80, ST Engineering fell one cent to 2.57, Singapore Telecommunications slipped two cents to 2.62 and Singapore Press Holdings was steady at 4.46. bur-bh/lh Stocks-Singapore.