Singapore shares rose slightly, with casino operator Genting Singapore PLC among the biggest gainers.
Genting shares rose as much as 1.7 percent to S$1.485, after falling for two consecutive sessions on weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Nearly 37 million shares changed hands, 1.2 times the average full-day volume over the past 30 days.
The Straits Times Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,392.56 points, while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.1 percent.
Shares of Singapore property and construction firm OKH Global Ltd jumped 90 percent to S$0.285 on its trading debut. It was among the top traded stocks by volume with more than 64 million shares changing hands.
Shares of construction firm Yongnam Holdings Ltd jumped as much as 6.3 percent to S$0.335, the highest since late 2007. Nearly 46 million shares were traded, 3.9 times the average full-day volume over the past 30 days.
"Management expects the resumption of major contract wins in the second half of this year, which we think will be positive stock catalysts," Maybank Kim Eng said, noting that the company's consortium is among the front-runners for airport projects in Myanmar. The broker has a "buy" rating and a target price of S$0.45 on the stock.
Shares of Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd (OUE) fell as much as 2.2 percent to S$3.07 after the property company posted a 91 percent fall in first-quarter profit after tax from a year earlier, partly hurt by higher expenses.
"While the result is weak, it is unlikely to drive OUE's share price in the near term. Potential RNAV accretion and higher dividend pay-outs from its planned REIT listing should remain the key stock catalysts, in our view", CIMB Research said.
