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Market closes firmer again

Solid US jobs data sparked another leg higher on the Australian sharemarket but the muted bond market response and US closure for the Independence Day holiday today kept a lid on sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index followed the 0.5 per cent overnight rally on Wall Street with a 33.7 point, or 0.61per cent, gain to 5525 after the 288,000 increase in US non-farm payrolls in May revived sagging growth optimism.

However, after following the knee-jerk equity market response with a 5 point jump global benchmark US 10-year yields reversed to finish just one point up at 2.63 per cent after deeper analysis revealed gains were in part-time jobs while full time jobs tumbled.

The mood was further dampened by a drop in the ISM services index to 56 points from 56.3, indicating the rebound in jobs could lose momentum in coming months.

"When you look at the payroll data and draw a conclusion as to the type of consumable fire power that it unleashes you are not filled with an abundance of confidence," Westpac strategist Graeme Jarvis said. "Combine that feeling with the information just received from both sets of ISM data and it is getting harder and harder to see the massive polar vortex expansion that has been hinted at for so long."

The Australian dollar was steady at US93.60¢ but Government 10-year yields climbed 4.3 points to 3.583 per cent.

The Shanghai composite index was off 0.2 per cent at the close of the ASX.

In Tokyo the Nikkei index was up 0.5 per cent.

Dalian iron ore futures slipped 0.5 per cent following the 2 per cent leap in spot iron ore to $US96.50 a tonne yesterday. Copper climbed 0.7 per cent to $US7175 a tonne and gold slipped $US3 to $US1319 an ounce.

More to come…