Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.23%

Sustained Wall Street gains could fuel the local market today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 7.12 or 0.23% higher at 3,131.77.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index fell 1.98%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index slipped 1.21%.

The top active stocks are DBS, which rose 0.78%, OCBC, which grew 0.91%, Singtel, which gained 0.32%, Venture, which fell 5.69%, and YZJ, with a 4.39% fall.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stocks closed higher, with the S&P 500 up for a fourth straight session on the back of strong technology shares. News that China may be receptive to overtures from the US on new talks also soothed trade-related jitters.

Nine out of eleven sectors in the S&P 500 indices closed higher, led by Information Technology (1.16%) and Health Care (1.14%) whilst Consumer Staples (-0.36%) and Financials (-0.14%) led the losses.

"Continued gains from Wall Street overnight in addition to developing positive news in the global macroeconomic space could inspire the local markets. However, investors will continue to track tensions between the U.S. and China," OCBC Investment Research said.