Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.11%

Do not expect a lift from Wall Street today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 3.74 points or 0.11% lower to 3260.05, taking the year-to-date performance to +13.17%.

The top active stocks today were ComfortDelGro, which gained 8.76%, DBS, which gained 0.15%, Rowsley, which gained 16.35%, Singtel, which declined 0.27% and UOB, with a 0.42% fall. 

OCBC Investment Research said US stocks closed lower on light volume, with the main indexes undoing some of the solid gains from the previous session as investors turned their attention to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming meeting of global central bankers and digested comments from President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night rally in Phoenix.

Meanwhile, eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries finished lower, with Industrials (-0.90%) and Consumer Discretionary (-0.84%) leading the losses while Real Estate (1.03%) led the gains.

"The pullback on Wall Street overnight could weigh on local sentiment today," the brokerage firm said.