Singapore shares will likely trade sideways in a cautious market, a dealer said. "Caution is still expected to hold sway as investors might not want to hold any large positions over the US jobs report (this) weekend. Technically, the indicators remain muted and continue to point towards sideways trading," said Carey Wong of OCBC Investment Research.
The US report on non-farm employment for January was due out later Friday. "The market is likely to remain directionless with downside bias in the first half of 2009 as the negative corporate and economic news is being digested," said BNP Paribas. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed on Friday at 1,715.35, down 31.12 points or 1.78 percent from the previous week.