SINGAPORE shares will take their cue next week from a weekend meeting of major industrialised nations, dealers said, as the city state on Friday became the first Asian economy to slide into recession.
As panic selling convulsed Singapore and other global stock markets over fears authorities are unable to contain the crisis, US President George W. Bush agreed to host ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) over the weekend.
SGX sets limits for Nifty futures
SINGAPORE Exchange on Friday adjusted the price limits and reduced the 'cooling off' period for trading in its Nifty Index futures to reflect the increased volatility in Indian stocks.
Effective immediately, SGX will introduce an intermediate price limit of 15 per cent which will trigger a 'cooling off' period of 5 minutes when trading in the Nifty contract will be halted temporarily.
He will be joined by finance ministers and central bankers of the US, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.
Markets will be looking 'for concrete ideas or solutions' from the meeting, Saxo Capital Markets said in Singapore.
'Authorities appear to be finally coming to grips with the enormity of the crisis and its wider implications for economies,' said the securities trading firm, a subsidiary of Copenhagen-based Saxo Bank A/S.
Mr Bush vowed to take 'strong action' against the crisis and emphasised 'our common desire to work with our European friends to develop a best-as-possible
common policy.'
Financial authorities in the major powers have already pumped massive amounts of liquidity into the global banking system in an effort to unclog credit markets. They have also joined in a coordinated cut in interest rates.
CFC Seymour securities said from Hong Kong that the G7 meeting is the markets' only hope.
'Coordinated action to recapitalise banks seems the only way to save markets,' CFC Seymour said.
Singapore's government next Friday is to release key trade statistics for Sept, after preliminary data last week showed that real gross domestic product declined by 6.3 per cent in the third quarter largely on weaker
manufacturing, following a 5.7 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.
Analysts said Singapore had become the first Asian economy to enter a technical recession.
In the week ended Oct 10, the blue chip Straits Times Index closed at 1,948.33 - its lowest close since Sept 2004. For the week, it was down 348.79 points, or 15.18 per cent.
Average daily volume traded for the week was 1.35 billion shares worth S$1.45 billion (US$980.40 million), compared with 1.12 billion shares valued at S$1.41 billion the previous week.
