Singapore shares are expected to trade cautiously on expectations upcoming US economic data would bring no relief to the world's biggest economy, dealers said. "Although the market has come down a lot, I don't think we've yet formed a base," Westcomb research head Goh Mou Lih told Dow Jones Newswires.
He said concerns that the US economic data may disappoint should keep investors on the sidelines. The United States is a major buyer of Asian exports, including those from Singapore.
The United States will release economic indicators, including the monthly employment report, next week. On Thursday, a forward-looking index of key US economic indicators fell by a bigger-than-expected 0.7 percent in July as economic headwinds continued to challenge American consumers.
The Conference Board, a private survey group, said its Leading Economic Index, which tracks a range of economic and market factors, dropped notably after remaining unchanged in June, suggesting consumers remain pessimistic about economic momentum.
In the week ended August 22, the blue chip Straits Times Index closed at 2,723.30, down 74.2 points, or 2.65 percent, from the week before. Average volume traded for the week was 880.56 million shares worth 1.06 billion Singapore dollars (753.36 million US), compared with 1.06 billion shares valued at 1.17 billion dollars the previous week.