The S&P 500 inched higher on Thursday to a record close, but persisting worries around U.S-China trade relations and declines in Cisco Systems and Walmart tempered the excitement around Wall Street.

The broad index closed just 0.1% higher at 3,096.63 as the real estate and material sectors outperformed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, closed marginally lower at 27,781.96 while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.04% to 8,479.02.

Oil prices fell on Thursday as U.S. crude futures were pressured by a build in domestic inventories and record production, while forecasts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for a lower-than-expected oil surplus supported Brent.

Concert promoter UnUsUaL Limited's earnings improved for the second quarter, jumping 54.8 per cent year-on-year to S$5 million, on stronger promotion and production revenue.

Straits Trading Company on Thursday posted a 13.2 per cent drop in net profit to S$12.2 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, due to a halving in earnings from its real estate segment, despite a more profitable resources division.

SINGTEL posted its first quarterly loss on Thursday with a S$668 million net loss in the second quarter, against profit of S$667 million before, on its S$1.93 billion pre-tax share of Bharti Airtel's provision for the past dues.

UOB Kay Hian Holdings on Thursday posted a 14.7 per cent increase in net profit to S$20.3 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, as higher trading volume and retail participation across its main regional markets boosted turnover.

Consumer group Fraser and Neave (F&N) on Thursday posted a 23.5 per cent increase in net profit to S$152.6 million for FY19, due to higher contributions from its beverages and dairies segments.

Sembcorp Industries on Thursday posted a 13 per cent decline in net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, as higher finance costs mainly arising from its marine and energy businesses took a toll on the bottomline.

Hong Leong Asia on Thursday announced third-quarter net profit rose 9.2 per cent to S$3.4 million, even as gross profit declined, as lower profit was attributed to non-controlling interests.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR