Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.12%

Don't expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 4.12 points or 0.12% lower at 3293.71, taking the year-to-date performance to -3.21%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which declined 0.99%, Venture, which gained 11.96%, Singtel, which rose 0.60%, CapitaLand, which gained 0.94% and OCBC Bank, with a 0.80% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index advanced 0.16%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.39%. 

According to OCBC Investment Research, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq close slightly higher thanks to strong bank and technology shares but the Dow extended its losing streak to a third session.

Three out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher. The best performers were Financials (1.32%) and Information Technology (0.52%), whilst worst performers were Utilities (-0.64%) and Industrials (-0.62%).

"We could see the STI making another attempt to overcome the key 3300 hurdle today. Should this level be convincingly broken, we see the next resistance at 3360," OCBC Investment Research said.