Week may start on a watchful note as Bursa re-opens

WALL Street's sprightly showing last Friday aside, the Singapore bourse may start the week on a watchful note as the Malaysian stock exchange re-opens on Monday and will likely see some volatile reaction to the stunning polls outcome that snagged a win for the opposition party there.

But with a few days to digest the remarkable turn of events, there is a chance that Malaysian shares could display some semblance of hope and join the cheer squad of Malaysians who pushed for change at the ballot booth and won. The mood could spill over to the exchange across the causeway, more specifically on stocks with huge Malaysian exposure. Two days after the elections, Malaysia-linked assets - government bonds and an exchange-traded fund that tracks Malaysian stocks - were already showing signs of stabilisation after an initial downturn.

"I would like to tell business people that they can push up the prices in the stock market," said the freshly-installed second-time Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad. It would be interesting to watch if those remarks have any sway in the stock market's performance.