Bulls And Bears

STI up 0.6% on the back of buoyant US jobs data

Upbeat China figures also bring cheer but rise capped by dismal S'pore retail numbers

Better-than-expected United States jobs data drove local shares higher yesterday, although analysts warned that jobless claims were still elevated.

Investors cheered numbers showing payrolls rose by 4.8 million last month after an upwardly revised 2.7 million gain in May.

The Straits Times Index (STI) opened at 2,648.64 and hit an intraday high of 2,660.27, before closing at 2,652.94 - up 16.25 points, or 0.62 per cent. There were 1.7 billion shares worth $931.4 million traded, with 249 gainers to 168 losers.

IG market strategist Jingyi Pan said: "The Singapore market looks to depart from the short-term downtrend, anchoring (the STI) around the 2,600 level."

News that China's service sector expanded at the fastest pace in over a decade last month also underpinned the market.

The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.4, the highest reading since April 2010, from May's 55.0, pulling further away from the trough hit in February as the coronavirus lockdown paralysed the economy.

But the upside was capped by news that Singapore retail sales fell 52.1 per cent year on year in May - the biggest recorded decline since 1986, when growth rate data was first compiled.

Healthcare-related Medtecs International, which also makes disposable personal protective equipment, continued to enjoy active trading on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The stock, which was trading around single-digit cents in past years, closed up 7.5 per cent at 50 cents. Top Glove, the world's largest rubber glove maker, also continued its uptrend. The stock is up fourfold from $1.54 last year to $6 after a rise of 5.45 per cent yesterday.

Regional bourses were generally upbeat over the buoyant figures on US job creation, which helped send the S&P up 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq to another record ahead of the July 4 holiday.

Hong Kong jumped 0.99 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.01 per cent, while the Shenzhen index added 1.28 per cent.

South Korea rose 0.8 per cent as worries of a global spike in Covid-19 infections capped further gains.

Japan closed 0.72 per cent higher, while Australia ended up 0.4 per cent to end the week 2.6 per cent ahead.

Mr Chris Gaffney of TIAA Bank told Agence France-Presse: "There's still a general positive sentiment about how quickly we're seeing the recovery. But we do think you're going to see the recovery level off, especially if we continue to see higher case numbers on the virus."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 04, 2020, with the headline STI up 0.6% on the back of buoyant US jobs data. Subscribe