THE DECEMBER-QUARTER earnings season in Singapore has just ended. Disappointments were plentiful, but some analysts believe the worst may be over, and that the stock market could be poised for more gains even after the strong run-up in the last two months.

 

Of the more than 300 companies that announced 4Q2011 results by the end of the trading day on Feb 29, those that turned in weaker numbers outnumbered those that reported an improvement by about 1.6 to one. 

IF THE LOCAL stock market’s performance in the first week of the New Year is anything to go by, strategists who have been advocating a defensive investment approach for fear of whiplash from Europe’s debt crisis have got it all wrong.

The Straits Times Index started the first trading day of 2012 with a bang, up 1.6% at 2,688.36, its highest close in three weeks. It ended above the 2,700 level daily for the rest of the shortened trading week, closing on Friday at 2,715.59, a weekly gain of 2.6%.