Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.13%

Expect markets to be fairly cautious today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 4.09 points or 0.13% lower to 3253.43 taking the year-to-date performance to +12.94%.

The top active stocks yesterday were DBS, which declined 0.91%, Singtel, which gained 0.53%, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.19%, UOB, which gained 0.21% and CapitaLand, with a 0.55% fall.

OCBC Investment Research said this came as the Dow industrials closed Wednesday at a record for a second straight session but other benchmarks finished lower as the Federal Reserve hiked the fed-funds futures rate after its two-day policy meeting, as expected, and indicated that it would reduce its $4.5t balance sheet this year.

Meanwhile, five out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Energy (-1.83%) and Materials (-1.06%) leading the declines while Consumer Staples (0.60%) and Utilities (0.59%) led the gains.

The brokerage firm said the mixed performances on Wall Street overnight could keep local sentiment fairly cautious today.