Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.63%

Weakness on Wall Street overnight could dampen the local sentiment further today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 22.45 points or 0.63% lower to 3517.94, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.38%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which declined 1.24%, OCBC Bank, which declined 2.03%, UOB, which declined 1.73%, Singtel, which gained 0.30% and Genting Sing, with a 2.52% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.08%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.42%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that the U.S. stock-market indexes closed lower in a volatile session on Wednesday, which reverses the earlier gains as Wall Street digested data that were seen as underlining the economy’s robust health. However, it added that the same strength could warrant the Federal Reserve to turn more hawkish and increase corporate borrowing costs.

All eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Energy (-2.29%) and Materials (-1.78%).

“Continued weakness on Wall Street overnight could dampen the local sentiment further today,” said OCBC.