Investors may sit on sidelines before Yellen speech

EVEN as old worries persist, renewed anxieties are starting to creep into investors' psyche which could depress the local stock market's showing in the ensuing weeks or months.

Growth concerns over China and the world, Brexit jitters and US rate hike timing which have been weighing on the stock market - none of these fears has gone away.

The worry spotlight is gradually turning on to the US presidential race in the event Donald Trump wins. "While the market appears to be assuming that his (Trump) contender, Hillary Clinton, will win the day ... we should at least think seriously about the possibility of a President Trump," said OCBC economist Wellian Wiranto in a late July note.