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THE much-awaited August jobs data in the United States is unlikely to solve the thorny question of whether the world's No.1 economy is back on the mend.
While US employers cut fewer jobs last month - 216,000 to be precise - than they had in months, the unemployment rate continued to climb to a fresh 26-year high at 9.7 per cent. This is due to more people entering the workforce.
For investors, this means that the agonising wait for the 'all clear' signal on the US economy will have to be prolonged, as they hunt for more signs of green shoots of growth to justify the huge stock market rally since March. They also got few consolations from the skittishness on Wall Street as it reacted to the fresh jobs data.
The jump in US unemployment rate had initially dampened the Dow Jones Industrial Average last Friday, but stocks later recovered to enable the widely watched index to end the day 1 per cent higher at 9,441.27.
As one market watcher put it, the gyration reflected a lack of conviction on the direction of the market going forward. The uncertainty is likely to put a dampener on Asian investors' appetite for blue chips when regional markets re-open today.
With the closure of Wall Street for a public holiday today, traders might just stay on the sidelines until mid-week to get their bearings from the US market.
Still, there was a sigh of relief among investors that September had turned out to be a benign trading month so far.
This was despite the scare given by Shanghai last Monday - the final August trading day - as it plunged 6.8 per cent, dragging down other bourses like Hong Kong and Singapore.
By Friday, however, Asian markets had regained their poise, as China swiftly moved to contain the damage with a slew of measures to restore investors' confidence.
These included a proposal to raise the cap for a foreign bank buying stocks in its domestic market from US$800 million (S$1.15 billion) to US$1 billion.
Since the Hong Kong and Singapore bourses have also attracted the listing of a large number of mainland firms, hopes ran high that they would also enjoy spillover buying interest, as fresh foreign funds are lured into the China market.
The optimism helped the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) to end only 0.75 per cent lower at 2,622.69 for the week, as it pared most of the losses sustained on Monday as Shanghai plunged.
But merely tracking the STI's performance was getting half of the picture on what was going on in the market.
Penny stocks and speculative plays enjoyed a roaring week, as interest in them revived.
In particular, Genting Singapore lured traders in large numbers, gaining 9.8 per cent to $1.12 during the week, as they salivated over the boost which its Sentosa integrated resort is likely to give to its earnings prospects.
The IPO market also got a boost, as Passion Holdings made its debut on Wednesday and gained 18 per cent from its issue price of 25 cents to close at 29.5 cents. A hefty 98.4 million Passion shares changed hands that day.
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