Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.05%

But expect market to be cautious ahead of Fed’s interest-rate decision.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 0.05 points lower to 2952.14 on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +2.41%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, this came as U.S. stocks set fresh records on Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at a high for the seventh session in a row as it moved within 100 points of the 20,000 milestone ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision Wednesday.

The brokerage firm reported that nine out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Energy (1.27%) and Information Technology (1.23%) while Materials (-0.22%) and Industrials (-0.13%) lost ground.

"Despite the gains on Wall Street overnight, the local sentiment is likely to remain cautious ahead of Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision," OCBC said.

Here's more from OCBC:

Gold for Feb delivery lost US$6.80, or 0.58%, to close at US$1159.00/ounce while Mar Silver decreased by 21 cents, or 1.22%, to settle at US$16.98/ounce.

We expect the STI to remain largely range-bound for now. On the upside, we peg the initial hurdle at 2970, ahead of 3000; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 2925, followed by its next support level at 2900.

Overall volume shrank 12.0% with 2.3b units traded, and the total value dipped 10.3% to S$1.1b; while average value/unit rose 1.9% to S$0.47.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia