SINGAPORE – Local shares enjoyed their first day of gains for the new year with a stellar performance on Thursday amid a region-wide rally.

Investors shrugged off the post-holiday inertia to send the Straits Times Index (STI) surging 1.6 per cent or 50.2 points to 3,292.66.

It was no surprise that gainers thumped losers 335 to 206 across the broader market after 1.2 billion shares worth $1.4 billion changed hands.

Part of the optimism stemmed from data showing that retail sales rose 6.2 per cent year on year in November, although they were down 3.7 per cent on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis.

The more buoyant mood in the region was also due to the positive session on Wall Street overnight that was sparked in part by good news on the jobs front that indicated a still-growing economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq put on 0.7 per cent.

IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that the minutes of the December meeting of the US Federal Reserve released overnight underlined that officials are putting on a “tough front” to show the central bank’s commitment to fighting inflation.

Despite this, markets continue to price in a more dovish Fed.

“That leaves the risk of further pushback from policymakers on the table,” Mr Yeap added.

Regional markets were also in the black. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1.3 per cent, Malaysian shares advanced 0.8 per cent and both Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 per cent.

The Australian bourse enjoyed an early rise before slipping back to close just 0.1 per cent up, despite talk that China might end its ban on coal from Down Under.

The top performer on the STI was Jardine Matheson Holdings, which gained 4 per cent to close at US$53. Emperador was at the other end of the spectrum, down 1.9 per cent to 50.5 cents. THE BUSINESS TIMES