Singapore share prices are likely to trade higher in the week ahead amid increased hopes of another cut in US interest rates, dealers said. The local market and its regional counterparts closed firmer Friday as investors grew more confident the US Federal Reserve will cut rates.
Their optimism followed remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Thursday that another rate reduction may be needed to bolster the floundering US economy.
"The markets will likely see much more stability in the week ahead following really volatile trades recently and hopes of another interest rate cut by the Fed will play a key role," said Hwang Geum-Dan, analyst at Samsung Securities in Seoul. For the week ended November 30, the main Straits Times Index finished 195.38 points or 5.87 percent higher at 3,521.27 points.
Average volume was 1.74 billion shares worth 2.26 billion Singapore dollars (1.60 billion US) compared with 1.79 billion shares valued at 2.06 billion dollars the previous week.