Singapore shares should trade cautiously next week, with local investors expected to seek leads from overseas developments as the corporate earnings season draws to a close, dealers said.
Investors will be watching how trading goes on Wall Street, the movement of oil prices and further details on an alleged plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States.
"The threat of terrorism has resurfaced as a concern for the market," a dealer with a local brokerage said, after British police said they had foiled an alleged plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States. "With oil prices remaining at high levels and the conflict in the Middle East escalating, I expect investors to continue being cautious in the coming week."
The Singapore police said the plot in Britain "underlines the seriousness of the continuing global terrorist threat."
Singapore officials have said that the city-state is a prime target by terror groups.
For the week ending August 11, the Straits Times Index fell 6.46 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,450.63.
Average daily volume totalled 858.68 million shares worth 900.31 Singapore dollars (573.44 million US), compared with 912.29 million shares valued at 990.21 million dollars the previous week.