SINGAPORE shares closed 0.72 per cent higher in shortened Christmas eve trading on Wednesday but the mood remained sombre because of the prevailing economic downturn, dealers said.

The main Straits Times Index rose 12.45 points to 1,736.99. Volume traded totalled 325 million shares worth S$286 million.

There were 159 risers, 117 losers and 1,022 issues were flat.

'We're going to stay like this for a while. After all, we're nearing the end of the year,' a dealer with a foreign brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires.

'You won't see any huge decisions for now by investors.'

Among the blue chips, Singapore Telecommunications dropped one cent to 2.54, Singapore Airlines was two cents higher at 11.32 and Keppel Corp fell five cents to 4.20.

For the banks, DBS gained 21 cents to 9.25, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp added 15 cents to 5.05 and United Overseas Bank rose eight cents to 12.48. -- AFP