Singapore shares are expected to trade on a firmer note this week on hopes that economic growth in the third quarter will remain strong, dealers said.
The government is due Monday to release preliminary figures for the September quarter and analysts are hopeful of a strong display following signs of strength in the key manufacturing sector.
The forward-looking Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures activity in the manufacturing sector, rose 0.9 points to 53.1 in September from the previous month. For the electronics industry, the PMI rose 2.5 points to a 15-month high of 55.6 points.
"The strong electronics PMI readings suggest that industrial output and exports, which has been lifted by non-electronics in the first two months of the third quarter, will now be supported by electronics," DBS Bank said.
"This could finally prove to be the start of the upswing in Singapore's IT manufacturing sector, which has been out of sync with the uptrend already seen in other parts of the region."
Analysts are expecting Monday's figures to show economic activity in the third quarter grew by as much as 6.20 percent from a year ago. The economy expanded 5.2 percent in the June quarter.
For the week to October 7, the Straits Times index was at 2,305.24 points, little changed from 2,305.14 points the week before.
Average daily volume was 1.18 billion shares worth 980 million Singapore dollars (580 million US), up from 990 million shares worth 930 million dollars (554 million US) the previous week.
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