Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.11%

Investors are urged to take caution today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 3.81 points or 0.11% lower to 3420.1, taking the year-to-date performance to +18.72%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which declined 1.19%, Singtel, which gained 0.53%, SATS, which gained 6.37%, CapitaLand, which declined 0.28% and CityDev, with a 0.49% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.52%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.01%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stock benchmarks closed mostly lower on Friday, putting an end to multi-week winning streaks by the major indexes as investors expressed nagging anxiety about a possible delay in much-anticipated corporate tax cuts.

Seven out of 11 S&P 500 industries finished lower, with Energy, which fell 0.81%, and Health Care, which fell 0.66%, leading the declines whilst Consumer Staples, which rose by 0.97%, led the gains. The index retreated 0.21% for the week.

"The muted performances on Wall Street Friday could cause investors to remain cautious today," OCBC said.