Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.25%

Don't expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 7.96 or 0.25% higher at 3,220.92.

The top active stocks were YZJ Shipbldg SGD, which surged 3.45%, DBS, which rose 0.71%, OCBC Bank, which went up 0.56%, Genting Sing, which remained unchanged, and UOB which jumped 0.71%.

The FTSE Mid Cap rose 0.55% whilst the FTSE Small Cap grew 0.04%.

According to OCBC Investment Research (OIR), US stocks closed mostly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapping a four-day winning streak, as investors tried to make sense of a pair of conflicting reports on US-China trade talks.

Eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Utilities (-1.18%) and Financials (-0.76%) whilst Health Care (0.78%) led the gains.

“Today’s tone is likely to be cautious as investors await future policy decisions from the Fed meeting Wednesday,” OIR said.