Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.36%

Expect more gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 11.24 points or 0.36% higher to 3111.63 on Monday, taking the year-to-date performance to +7.94%.

The top active stocks today were Singtel, which gained 1.28%, SingPost, which declined 4.42%, Global Logistic, which declined 0.36%, DBS, which declined 0.32% and Noble, with a 3.14% advance.

OCBC said this came as U.S. stocks extended gains on Monday, with major indexes closing at records for a third session in a row as financial and industrial stocks paved the way to higher ground.

Meanwhile, ten out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, with Financials (1.11%) and Industrials (0.99%) leading the gains while Telecommunication Services (-1.26%) bucked the trend.

"The gains on Wall Street overnight could continue to provide some support to the local bourse today," OCBC said.

Here's more from OCBC:

The STI is on track to inch higher to test the 3125 immediate support. Beyond 3125, the next hurdle lies at the 3165 psychological level. On the downside, we still see the immediate support at 3070, ahead of 3040.

Overall volume shrank 0.1% with 3.3b units traded, and total value dipped 24.0% to S$1.3b, while average value/unit fell 23.9% to S$0.39.