Singapore shares are expected to ease next week after rallying to record heights, dealers said. The results of general elections this Saturday and corporate earnings from some blue chip stocks such as Singapore Airlines (SIA) were also likely to influence investors, they added.
Opposition political parties are mounting a robust challenge to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in the polls, but the PAP is widely expected to maintain its uninterrupted rule since independence in 1965.
"We might consolidate next week," Fraser-AMMB research director Najeeb Jarhom said. Dealers see the benchmark index being supported at 2,600 points.
A local brokerage dealer said the market would look for trading cues next week from corporate results to be released such as SIA, SembCorp Industries, CapitaLand, and telecom firm StarHub.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 2,632.42 on Friday, up 21.17 or 0.83 percent from the previous week. The index had sprinted to a record intraday peak of 2,666.33 on Wednesday before easing.
For the four-day trading week ended May 5, average daily volume traded totalled 1.37 billion shares worth 1.33 billion Singapore dollars (842 million US), compared with 1.5 billion shares valued at 1.4 billion dollars the previous week.