Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.54%

Investors are urged to take caution today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 18.61 points or 0.54% lower to 3412.15, taking the year-to-date performance to +0.27%. 

The top active stocks were DBS, which declined 0.51%, UOB, which declined 1.61%, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.55%, Venture, which declined 0.96% and Singtel, with a 0.30% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.56%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.16%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks closed higher Tuesday, following a volatile session that saw major indexes fluctuate widely as investors digested a sharp move lower in the previous session and gauged the likelihood of both trade risk and further weakness in technology names.

All eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, with Energy (2.14%) and Health Care (1.52%) leading the gains. Real Estate (0.32%) and Utilities (0.35%) gained the least.

"The volatile session ending in small broad-based gains on Wall Street overnight will likely keep the local sentiment cautious today," OCBC said.