FBI move, just before election, to dampen market

AFTER beating a retreat last week, local shares look set to spend the next several days in a state of anxiety with just one more week to go before pivotal decisions in the United States shape the next four years or more for the world's biggest economy and the rest of the world as well.

The benchmark Straits Times Index may be buffeted by divergent forces on the first day of the week. One factor that may give it a minor lift is the fact that Monday is the last day of October, and therefore might see some month-end window-dressing. But the effect, if any, will likely not be as much as the activity that goes on at the end of a calendar quarter.

In the other direction, the local index may more likely be dampened by poor sentiment following a slide on Wall Street last Friday on the back of news that the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that it would investigate additional e-mail related to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a personal e-mail server while she was secretary of state.