Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.65%

Investors are urged to take caution today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 22.73 points or 0.65% higher to 3512.18, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.21%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which gained 0.49%, CapitaLand, which gained 1.92%, UOB, which gained 1.26%, OCBC Bank, which gained 0.31% and Singtel, with a 0.83% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.08%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.21%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at records on Monday as gains in energy and industrials helped the benchmarks finish in positive territory in the first five sessions of 2018 on optimism over a stronger economy and looming fiscal stimulus.

Nine out of 11 S&P 500 industries finished higher. The best performers were Utilities, which rose 0.94%, and Real Estate, which rose 0.59%, whilst Health Care, which fell 0.38%, and Financials, which fell 0.13%, lost ground.

"Local sentiment could remain positive today, but we expect the STI’s gains to be limited especially after the strong performances over the past sessions," OCBC said.