Singapore index hits near 11-month high; Singtel shines

A man walks past a stock market board. Singtel shares rose to their highest in more than four months on Thursday, April 24, 2014, while the Singapore index reversed losses from the previous session to rise to a near 11-month high, boosted by better-t
A man walks past a stock market board. Singtel shares rose to their highest in more than four months on Thursday, April 24, 2014, while the Singapore index reversed losses from the previous session to rise to a near 11-month high, boosted by better-than-expected tech earnings on Wall Street. -- ST FILE PHOTO: BRYAN VAN DER BEEK

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singtel shares rose to their highest in more than four months on Thursday, while the Singapore index reversed losses from the previous session to rise to a near 11-month high, boosted by better-than-expected tech earnings on Wall Street.

The benchmark Straits Times index rose 0.6 per cent to 3,277.1, after touching a high of 3,278.14, a level unseen since last June. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.16 per cent.

Shares of Singtel advanced as much as 1.6 per cent to $3.76, its highest since Dec 2, after the company entered into an agreement to purchase shares in video analytics company Kai Square.

The index was also lifted by better-than-expected earnings on Wall Street, as tech giants Apple and Facebook reported first-quarter earnings that far outstripped forecasts.

Other gainers on the index include SembCorp Industries and ComfortDelgro, which both rose 1.5 per cent.

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