Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.56%

Investors need to brace themselves for bad news.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 19.76 points or 0.56% lower to 3491.37, taking the year-to-date performance to +2.60%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which declined 0.99%, Singtel, which declined 0.58%, UOB, which declined 1.47%, Keppel Corp, which gained 1.94% and OCBC Bank, with a 1.19% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.10%, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.55%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with major indexes suffering their worst day in weeks as the treat of a trade war with China sparked a widespread selloff.

Ten out of 11 S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Financials (-3.70%) and Industrials (-3.28%) leading the declines, whilst Utilities (0.44%) was the sole gainer.

"The more than 2% tumble on Wall Street overnight is likely to weigh further on local sentiment today, pushing the STI ever closer to the 3420 key support," OCBC said.