STI +0.6% at 3199.83 midday, with gainers beating decliners 2.4 to 1; volume picks up to 955 million shares vs 620 million at midday yesterday, as sharp gains in global, regional bourses, fueled by good news on US employment picture, encourage investors to step back into market.

UOB KayHian says investors can start initiating small positions on STI, expects near-term advancement within recent trendlines, with index well above 3,118 support; sets minor resistance at 3,206.50.

Blue chips mostly faring well, among FTSE series, only oil & gas, utilities, catalist indexes lower; news-driven stocks in focus include: United Engineers (U04.SG) +3.1% at $2.68 on potential gain from proposed EPC unit spin off; Cosco (F83.SG) +1.5% at $2.09 on US$110 million ($144 million) boost to orderbook; Osim (O23.SG) +4.8% at $1.54 on TDR listing proposal; Wilmar (F34.SG) off 0.2% at $6.04 underperforming on China price-control measures concerns.