Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.68%

Stocks could do a rebound with the modest Wall Street gains.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 21.93 or 0.68% higher at 3,247.55, taking the year-to-date performance to +21.93.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 2.18%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index slipped 1.78%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which inched up 70%, Singtel, which grew 0.62%, OCBC, which advanced 0.20%, UOB, which rose 0.11%, and CapitaLand, with a 0.20% fall.

OCBC Investment Research noted that the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished at records for a third consecutive session after a measure of consumer confidence hit a nearly 18-year high, underscoring a continued expansion of the U.S. economy. However, the market’s gains were muted, with indexes closing off of intraday peaks.

Four out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Real Estate (1.18%) and Information Technology (0.22%) whilst Telecommunication Services (-0.48%) and Energy (-0.45%) led the declines.

"The modest gains on Wall Street overnight could see the STI attempting to make another technical rebound today," OCBC Investment Research said.