Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.42%

Expect some good news today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 14.75 points or 0.42% lower to 3533.99, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.85%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained closed unchanged, Singtel, which declined 0.84%, UOB, which declined 0.26%, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.46% and CapitaLand, with a 0.78% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.06%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.28%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks saw choppy trade Wednesday after the Federal Reserve did nothing to discourage expectations for a March rate rise, but ended the session with modest gains while booking the biggest monthly rise since March 2016.

Eight out of 11 S&P 500 industries finished higher, led by Real Estate, which rose 2.08%, and Utilities, which rose 1.10%, whilst Health Care, which dropped 1.45%, and Consumer Staples, which fell 0.41%, led the declines.

"The rebound on Wall Street overnight could bring some cheer to local bourse today," OCBC said.