Optimism holding up despite dismal US jobs data

Singapore

ECONOMIC concerns continued to mount over the past week as the US announced on Friday last week a record unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent for the month of April.

That figure was, nevertheless, lower than expected. US stocks rose in response, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 1.91 per cent, the S&P 500 Index climbing 1.69 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbing 1.58 per cent.