Up to 1.4 billion shares exchanged hands.

Gainers outweighed losers 355 to 285.

Official data released in the United States on Friday showed the US labour market held up better than expected in April, with 20,000 jobs cut in the month. Analysts said the figures signaled a mild economic downturn but not a calamity.

The unemployment rate, based on a separate survey, fell a tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 per cent, the US Labor Department said.

The payrolls report is seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum and came after some economists said the US, battered by a sharp decline in housing and a related credit squeeze, had already entered a recession.

'With recession fears subsiding, we may see a good run-up in the short-term,' Westcomb Securities said in a note to clients.

Banking shares ended higher, with DBS Group rising 16 cents to 20.40 Singapore dollars, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp gaining one cent to 9.01 and United Overseas Bank up six cents at 21.36 a day ahead of its first-quarter earnings report.

Property heavyweights were mixed, with CapitaLand down three cents at 7.06, City Developments dropping 16 cents to 12.34 and Keppel Land up two cents at 6.02.

Singapore Airlines advanced 10 cents to 16.26 and Singapore Telecommunications finished two cents lower at 3.87. -- AFP