Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.36%

Expect some good news today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 12.47 points or 0.36% higher to 3524.65, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.58%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which gained 0.23%, Singtel, which closed unchanged, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.62%, UOB, which gained 2.02% and CapitaLand, with a 1.61% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.21%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.03%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stock benchmarks on Tuesday afternoon finished at fresh records, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registering a sixth straight gain for 2018.

Four out of eleven S&P 500 industries finished higher. The best performers were Health Care, which gained 1.10%, and Financials, which gained 0.71%, whilst worst performers were Telecommunication Services, which dipped 1.83%, and Real Estate, which fell 1.14%.

"Continued gains on Wall Street overnight are likely to keep local sentiment fairly upbeat today," OCBC said.