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THE local bourse sprinted to its highest closing level so far this year, as traders anticipated pleasant surprises in the company results reporting season.
Even deadly bomb blasts in Jakarta failed to register strongly on investors' radar screens, as they swarmed back to the market to take on fresh positions before trading closed for the week.
They also shrugged off weakening US stock futures before the release of quarterly results by US corporate giants such as Citigroup and General Electric.
And unlike the rally earlier in the week, which was dominated by buying in banks and property counters, the gains made yesterday were broad-based, with blue chips and penny stocks proving to be equally alluring to investors.
This feel-good factor enabled the benchmark Straits Times Index to close 29.94 points higher at 2,430.96, despite a shaky start which sent it tumbling below the 2,400 support level at one point.
After rallying for four straight days, the index ended 122.98 points, or 5.3 per cent, higher for the week.
Even the higher overall market volume attested to the more bullish prevailing sentiment, with 1.63 billion shares worth $1.42 billion changing hands. There were 338 rises and 138 falls.
Elsewhere, STI's gains were mirrored by similar advances made by other major stock indexes such as Hong Kong's Hang Seng which rose 2.42 per cent, Japan's Nikkei-225 Index which gained 0.55 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index which edged up 0.19 per cent.
For traders, it was a case of making hay while the sun shines on regional markets. 'Whether it is a new bull run or another bull trap, traders are keen to make all the money they can while the rally lasts,' said remisier James Chen.
And given the positive surprise in Singapore's second-quarter economic flash estimates, it was not surprising to find banks and property counters continuing to hog the limelight, given their extensive exposure to the local economy.
Even the 11 per cent year-on-year drop in non-oil domestic exports for June was given a positive spin, since the contraction was slightly smaller than the 12.3 per cent decline registered in May.
As such, property giants continued to power ahead. City Developments rose 40 cents to $9.38 and CapitaLand was up 11 cents at $3.73.
Among local lenders, United Overseas Bank gained 26 cents to $15.38, DBS Group Holdings rose 18 cents to $12.40, and OCBC Bank added four cents to $7.03.
Even Singapore Airlines was up six cents to $13.50, despite analysts warning that it might lose money in the April to June quarter.
In a report yesterday, Citigroup noted that 'a tug of war between a turnaround in the Singapore economy and weak SIA fundamentals favours a well-supported SIA share price'. While Citigroup kept its sell call on the stock, ahead of SIA's June results, it conceded that SIA could be pulled up if the market recovery continues.
On the broader market, rail-carriage maker Midas Holdings fell 0.5 cent to 81.5 cents. It had placed out about 120 million shares at 75.5 cents apiece to raise $89.4 million.
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