Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.49%

Expect some good news today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 15.92 points or 0.49% higher to 3265.26, taking the year-to-date performance to +13.35%.

The top active stocks today were Global Logistic, which closed unchanged, DBS, which gained 0.83%, Singtel, which gained 0.27%, CityDev, which gained 0.70% and OCBC Bank, with a 0.73% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.36%, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.29%.

Meanwhile, US stock-market indexes closed higher Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 posting gains for a fourth straight session after a pair of strong economic reports.

Eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries finished higher, led by Information Technology (0.84%) and Materials (0.73%) while Telecommunication Services (-0.64%) and Utilities (-0.44%) led the losses.

According to OCBC Investment Research, "Continued gains on Wall Street overnight could provide some cheer to the local bourse today."