Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.06%

Don't expect gains today as investors weigh the implications of Fed announcements.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 2.18 points or 0.06% lower to 3511.13, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.18%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 0.28%, UOB, which gained 0.99%, Singtel, which declined 0.29%, OCBC Bank, which gained 0.37% and Venture, with a 1.05% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.02%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.19%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stock-market indexes ended a turbulent session slightly lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve delivered its sixth interest-rate increase since the end of 2015 and signalled that it still expects to deliver two more before the end of the year.

Eight out of 11 S&P 500 industries ended lower. The best performers were Energy (1.90%) and Materials (1.57%) whilst worst performers were Information Technology (-0.91%) and Health Care (-0.89%).

"The retreat on Wall Street overnight could keep local sentiment cautious today as investors weigh the implications of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision," OCBC said.