THE good news is that the bad news might not be as terrible as expected when second-quarter results start being released over the next few weeks.

There may not be the nasty surprises feared a month or so ago while the improved numbers on the general economic front could translate into better corporate earnings and share upgrades for the rest of the year.

Singapore's flash estimate of 20.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter gross domestic product growth beat market consensus by a strong margin and earnings could follow suit, say analysts.

'There will definitely be companies that will come in with better-than-expected (earnings) numbers,' said DMG research head Terence Wong.

'Tech-related companies and manufacturing companies may surprise on the upside, although all that talk about restocking is already pumped into expectations.'

Still, M1, among the first off the mark, said last week that net profit slid 9.7 per cent to $37.1 million. Qian Hu's results will be out today.

Real estate investment trusts (Reits), usually among the first to report results, are expected to turn in some resilient numbers this week.

Deutsche Bank said the outlook for Reits has improved as refinancing risks have receded with the improvement in credit markets. It also expects operating results for the second quarter to hold steady.

JPMorgan also noted that most Reits have largely completed the necessary refinancing, saying 'the sector has by and large sufficiently capitalised', although there could be some 'potential opportunistic raisings'.

Eyes will also be on property developers. They had a poor first quarter with blue chips, including CapitaLand and City Developments, under-shooting analyst estimates.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

yanghw@sph.com.sg