Singapore backs US recovery

ASIA'S markets had already shut up shop when the latest set of US payroll figures sent Wall Street's traders scrambling to find the 'buy' button on Friday. But they sparkled today as investors bid markets higher on the belief that the world's largest economy was at last adding positions across the board.

Singapore's performance was typical of the positive mood across the region, although a couple of major markets were closed for local holidays and missed out on the party. The benchmark Straits Times index climbed 4.22 points or 0.2% to 1884.67. Tech stocks led the push higher.

State-linked chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing was boosted by six cents or 3.6% to S$1.71, while contract electronic gadget maker Venture rose 70 cents or 3.4% to S$21.

The gains put both within sight of 12-month highs. Chartered topped out last October at S$ 1.96, while Venture peaked earlier this year at S$24.20. Brokers said the pair were primed for further gains if the Nasdaq continued to chart a higher course.

The trigger for the advances was news that US companies had added 308,000 positions last month, the biggest single monthly gain since April 2000. The improvement far exceeded expectations.

Economists had been muttering that a failure to create many new jobs had been casting a pall over the solidity of US recovery. While a single month's decent job data does not represent a trend, it has served to alleviate some of the tension.

Singapore itself has been showing clear signs of late that its own economic fortunes are looking brighter as the year wears on. Number-crunchers now expect that the trade dependent economy could grow by as much as 7% this year, a stellar showing in contrast to last year's flu-struck performance.

The South East Asian city-state - which has a higher ratio of trade to gross domestic product than any other country - is particularly sensitive to changes in US markets and its economy.

Also on the gainers' board were telecoms shares. Singapore Telecommunications, which owns a slew of stakes in telcos in Australia-and South East Asia, firmed one cent or 0.4% to S$2.34. MobileOne, the second-largest mobile group in phone-crazy Singapore, added 1 cent 0.7% to S$1.43.

Banks came in for profit-taking, however. Oversea Chinese Banking Corp dropped 10 cents or 0.8% to S$12.40, and rival United Overseas Bank gave up 10 cents or 0.7% to S$13.60. The best of the pack was State-linked DBS Group, which merely trod water at S$14.10.

Japan's Nikkei 225 put in a robust performance, flirting repeatedly with the 12,000-point barrier. With additional support coming from hopes that its own economy is headed in the right direction, it closed 142.37 points higher at 11,958.32.

Tech stocks were in the vanguard. Hitachi, the electronics conglomerate, rose 27 yen or 3.4% to 833; entertainment- to- gadget maker Sony was boosted by 130 yen or 3.2% to 4,470; and chipmaker Tokyo Electron was better by 200 yen or 2.9% to 7200.

Resource plays, cyclical favourites, boosted Australia. BHP Billiton climbed 23 cents or 1.8% to A$12.72 and Rio Tinto jumped 56 cents or 1.6% to A$35.51. The All Ordinaries index was jacked up 10.5 points or 0.3% to 3447.9.

Financial markets in both Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for local holidays.