Asian markets mostly rose Friday following a surge on Wall Street after unexpectedly weak US data tempered talk of an interest rate hike by summer.
Despite the easing rate expectations, the dollar maintained its strength against the yen and euro after retreating slightly from multi-year highs Thursday.
Tokyo jumped 1.08 per cent, Hong Kong added 0.11 per cent, Seoul gained 0.88 per cent and Shanghai put on 0.30 per cent but Sydney eased 0.62 per cent.
The broad gains across the region followed Thursday's bargain hunting-filled advances and top off a tough week for global investors after last Friday's strong US jobs report ratcheted up speculation about a Federal Reserve rate hike.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Friday with the Straits Times Index up 0.01 point to 3,373.61 points at 9.11am.
This was on the back of Wall Street stocks snapping a two-day losing streak. Wall Street stocks surged after big US banks cleared Federal Reserve stress tests and the dollar retreated from a 12-year high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 259.83 points (1.47 per cent) to 17,895.22. The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 25.71 (1.26 per cent) to 2,065.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 43.35 (0.89 per cent) to 4,893.29.
The Straits Times Index extended its losing streak into a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, this time with a 4.99 points loss at 3,373.6. Since closing at 3,417 on Friday, the STI has now lost a total of 44 points or 1.3 per cent. On Thursday, it briefly entered negative territory for the year to date. For 2015 it is now up just 8 points.
Turnover was 1.3 billion units worth S$1 billion and excluding warrants there were 188 rises versus 228 falls. The main drag over the past four days has been US interest rate worries which have led to a wobbly market on Wall Street. The pressure there emerged after Friday's February jobs report was better than expected, prompting fears that the US Federal Reserve might raise rates sooner rather than later. However, there were hopes that since the STI rebounded off its intraday low, Wall Street would enjoy a firm Thursday.
