Singapore shares closed 0.21 percent higher on Wednesday as investors waited for the outcome of U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting due later the day.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will wrap up its meetings later Wednesday and a press conference with Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will follow. Investors are looking for indications of a postponement of near-term increases in interest rates from Yellen during the press conference.

The market was under pressure in the earlier session as oil prices continued their slide and after MSCI decided to delay including China A-shares in its Emerging Markets Index, disappointing some investors.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 5.92 points to 2,774.25 points. Trading volume was 1.08 billion shares worth 772 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 193 to 170, while 541 stocks did not move.

Among top actives, Singapore Telecommunications inched up 0.3 percent to 3.81 Singapore dollars. It said it have joined forces with associate company Bharti Airtel (Airtel) to deliver high-speed, secure data network coverage to Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the U.S. By combining the two networks, the two companies can provide integrated, fully managed and secured networking service to help multinational companies simplify their communications needs.

CapitaLand rose 1 percent to 2.99 Singapore dollars. The real estate developer announced it is setting up a 100 million Singapore dollar fund to invest in technology startups in sectors that include energy, construction and building materials. The fund for global technology investment followed a 15 million Singapore dollar funding for local startups announced in May.

Among the top gainers, Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 1.4 percent to 33.31 Singapore dollars, whereas Great Eastern Holdings became one of the top losers by falling 1.6 percent to 21 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.35 Singapore dollars)

source : xinhua