Shares close 5.94% higher

SINGAPORE - Singapore shares closed 5.94 per cent higher on Thursday, mirroring gains in regional markets following Wall Street's overnight bounce.

The Straits Times Index rose 101.08 points to 1,803.34. Volume traded totalled 1.82 billion shares worth $1.66 billion (US$1.1 billion), and there were 417 rising issues, 107 losers while 673 issues were even.

A better-than-expected survey on the US manufacturing sector was the main reason behind the market optimism, dealers said.

'The market has for some time believed the global economy will take a long, long time to get out of the doldrums and that it'll go into depression,' a dealer at a foreign brokerage said.

'But now, we're seeing some data showing things are not as bad as thought, and that some of the pump-priming measures by governments are starting to take effect,' the dealer said.

Among the banks, DBS advanced 55 cents to $9, United Overseas Bank put on 68 cents to $10.48 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp was 25 cents higher at $5.05.

Singapore Airlines rose 32 cents to $10.56, Singapore Telecommunications gained two cents to $2.55 and Keppel Corp was 59 cents up at $5.77.

In the property sector, Keppel Land firmed 12 cents to $1.60, City Developments added 56 cents to $5.70 and CapitaLand was 25 cents stronger at $2.60.