Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.24%

Expect some boosts today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 8.15 points or 0.24% higher to 3421.25, taking the year-to-date performance to +18.76%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 1.15%, CapitaLand, which declined 2.15%, Venture, which declined 3.06%, Singtel, which closed unchanged, and Genting Singapore, with a 2.36% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.34%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.20%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stocks booked slight gains on Wednesday, allowing the main equity benchmarks to creep further into record territory as investors awaited updates on efforts to pass tax reform in Washington and as President Donald Trump toured Asia, highlighting lingering tensions with North Korea in a speech.

Seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries finished higher, with Consumer Staples, which rose by 1.08%, and Real Estate, which rose by 0.74%, leading the gains whilst Financials, which fell 0.60%, led the declines.

"The strength on Wall Street overnight could provide some inspiration to the local bourse today," OCBC said.