SINGAPORE -Singapore shares inched slightly higher on Thursday (Aug 22), with the Straits Times Index adding 0.1 per cent, or 4.16 points to 3,126.73 as at 9.02am.

This comes after Wall Street stocks resumed their upward climb overnight after solid retail earnings, and held on to their gains following the release of the Federal Reserve minutes. The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 0.8 per cent higher on Wednesday, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite and bluechip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.9 per cent each.

On the Singapore bourse, advancers edged out losers 47 to 43, after about 26.1 million shares worth $41.5 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Ascott Reit rose 0.8 per cent, or one cent to $1.30, with 2.8 million units traded, while Thai Beverage was flat at 92.5 cents, with 1.8 million shares traded.

Financials rose across the board in the early morning trade - DBS gained 0.5 per cent, or 12 cents to $24.70, United Overseas Bank added 0.4 per cent, or 10 cents to $24.86, and OCBC Bank rose 0.5 per cent, or five cents to $10.71.

Other active stocks included YZJ Shipbuilding which lost 1 per cent, or one cent to 95.5 cents, and Genting Singapore which was up 0.6 per cent, or 0.5 cent to 89.5 cents on a cum-dividend basis.

Elsewhere, Asian equities edged ahead on Thursday after Wall Street got a boost from strong retail results, and minutes from the Fed's latest meeting did little to alter expectations for more interest-rate cuts.

Japan's Topix rose 0.3 per cent and South Korea's Kospi was little changed.

Meanwhile, Australia stocks gained 0.4 per cent, and futures on the S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent.