SINGAPORE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Singapore stocks closed up on Friday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 1.28 percent or 44.76 points to close at 3533.22.

A total of 1.89 billion shares changed hands with a turnover of 1.42 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.07 billion U.S. dollars). Gainers outnumbered losers by 274 to 156.

The STI index closed down 0.79 percent or 27.77 points to close at 3488.46 on Thursday.