Singapore share prices could trade sideways, as fear remains a dominant feature in trade despite a lengthy sell-off, dealers said. For the week ended November 23, the main Straits Times Index finished 3.34 percent or 115.07 points lower at 3,325.89.
Average volume was 1.79 billion shares worth 2.06 billion dollars (1.43 billion US) compared with 2.09 billion shares worth 2.43 billion dollars the previous week.
The main index has fallen 14 percent since its all-time high of 3,875.77 reached on October 11. Regional market sentiment has been plagued by worries about fallout from a US housing downturn and a related credit crunch that led the US Federal Reserve to slash its outlook for 2008 economic growth in the world's biggest economy.
"There are clear signs of extreme fear in the market," said K. Ajith, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian. "Even so, from a statistical and technical standpoint, we think the sell-down is overdone."
Selling pressure will likely ease ahead of the Fed's next meeting on December 11, said Yeo Kee Yan, retail market strategist at DBS Vickers. With the markets "having corrected so much, investors would be adopting a wait-an-see attitude," Yeo said.
The government on Monday releases its report on October manufacturing, which analysts see rebounding from a 2.8 percent fall the previous month. Last week Singapore raised its 2007 growth target to 7.5-8.0 percent from 7.0-8.0 percent. The move followed faster growth in the third quarter on the back of a strong performance in the financial and construction sectors, the government said.
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