STI closes 1.26% higher, clawing back some losses from Wednesday's fall

SINGAPORE'S Straits Times Index (STI) pared Wednesday's losses in a rare ho-hum session by recent standards, closing 31.88 points or 1.3 per cent higher at 2,571.32 on Thursday. Of the STI's 30 counters, seven finished in the red.

Looking down the road, market sentiment will continue to depend on whether Covid-19 infection rates have peaked globally.

On Friday at least, investors in Asia will be looking to US jobless claims figures for clues to the health of the US labour force and whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and other key producers can reach a deal to cut output.