SINGAPORE - Singapore shares are expected to look for fresh leads to extend their gains next week, with concerns over the economy likely to weigh on sentiment, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index rose for the third straight session to close at 2,317.95 on Friday, up 44.77 points, or 1.97 percent, from the week before.

"For the near term, I think the index will stay within a range of 2,250 to maybe 2,350 or 2,400, which is where it has traded for most of this month," a dealer with a foreign brokerage said.

"To me, any further upside should not be too much above 2,400." Signs of a recovery for the recession-hit Singapore economy appear tentative, according to the latest data.

Government figures released Friday showed manufacturing output rose an unexpected 2.0 percent in May from the previous year, boosted by a surge in pharmaceuticals.

But analysts said the increase may not be an accurate indicator for a sustained recovery because of volatile swings in the pharmaceuticals sector. Singapore's tourism inflows also continued to decline.

Visitor arrivals fell 13 percent in May from a year ago, the government said Friday, as the global swine flu outbreak compounded the impact of the economic downturn on travel demand.

Over the past week, average daily volume was 1.39 billion shares valued at $1.28 billion, compared with 1.86 billion shares worth $1.49 billion dollars the week before.