Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.15%

Expect some gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 5.13 points or 0.15% higher to 3485.57, taking the year-to-date performance to +2.43%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which declined 0.35%, Singtel, which gained 0.30%, UOB, which gained 0.14%, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.45% and Venture, with a 1.19% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.19%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.20%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that the Dow closed back above 25,000 and the Nasdaq ended at a record on Friday as Wall Street appeared to shake off worries about tariffs on steel and aluminium to focus on an unexpectedly strong jobs report.

Ten out of 11 S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Financials (2.48%) and Industrials (2.17%) whilst Telecommunication Services (-0.06%) lost ground. The index rallied 3.5% for the week.

"The gains on Wall Street Friday are likely to provide a modest boost to the local bourse today, potentially extending the STI’s gains in the previous session," OCBC said.