Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 1.66%

Expect mild gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 54.66 points or 1.66% higher at 3340, taking the year-to-date performance to -1.85%. 

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 1.48%, OCBC Bank, which gained 4.06%, UOB, which gained 3.28%, Singtel, which gained 0.95% and Genting Sing, with a 0.89% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.76%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.11%.

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors continued to brush aside anxiety over the trade war between the U.S. and China and instead focus on positive corporate earnings, according to OCBC Imvestment Research.

Seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Energy (0.72%) and Industrials (0.70%) whilst Consumer Staples (-0.57%) and Real Estate (-0.22%) led the declines.

“The gains on Wall Street overnight could bring some cheer to the local bourse today. However, we expect the upside to be limited with trade tensions remaining in focus,” OIR added.