SINGAPORE, Nov 25 — Singapore shares entered their fourth consecutive session of gains today as a US holiday halted the dollar's rally that had absorbed capital out of most emerging markets.

Wall Street was closed yesterday for Thanksgiving and trading will end early today.

"I think it is because the United States is closed for Thanksgiving so there is a lack of foreign counterparts dragging the markets down,” said Grace Aller, analyst, AP Securities.

"It's mostly locals buying into the markets. I think it (Thanksgiving holiday) opened up trading opportunity for the locals.”

The dollar rose to an eight-month high against the yen today as US bond yields resumed their rise in Asia after the Thanksgiving break shut markets in the United States.

Strong US manufacturing and consumer data this week have bolstered the surge in the dollar. The dollar index has risen 0.6 per cent this week.

Recent robust data from the United States and China showed that the world's largest economies are doing well. This shows that they are steadying, thus, lessening the trickling of bad economic data into the other smaller markets by removing external headwinds, Aller said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.42 per cent today.

The Singapore main index rose as much as 0.94 per cent, pulled up by consumer and financial stocks. Agribusiness group Wilmar International Ltd climbed as much as 3.5 per cent, while DBS Group Holdings Ltd gained upto 1.4 per cent.

Thai shares gained for a fourth session in five, led by consumer and healthcare stocks. Food franchise and hotelier Minor International Plc rose as much as 5.8 per cent, while Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL edged up as much as 0.88 per cent.

Meanwhile, Vietnam dropped as much as 0.9 per cent, on track to post its second consecutive session of declines, with consumer non-cyclicals and financials dragging the index down. — Reuters