Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.19%
Expect muted gains today.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 6.64 points or 0.19% higher to 3430.02, taking the year-to-date performance to +19.07%.
The top active stocks today were DBS, which gained 1.85%, OCBC Bank, which gained 0.76%, Singtel, which gained 0.27%, Genting Singapore, which gained 0.74% and UOB, with a 0.08% fall.
The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.16%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.27%.
According to OCBC Investment Research, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended slightly lower Wednesday, maintaining a soft tone after the Federal Reserve minutes indicated that an interest-rate hike is likely but the pace of future tightening could be more moderate than expected given muted inflation.
Seven out of 11 S&P 500 industries finished lower, led by Financials, which fell 0.40%, and Real Estate, which fell 0.35%, whilst Telecommunication Services, which rose 1.67%, led the gains.
"The mixed performances on Wall Street overnight are unlikely to provide much in term of cues to local bourse this morning.," OCBC said.