Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.48%

Don't expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 15.9 points or 0.48% lower to 3300, taking the year-to-date performance to -3.02%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which rose 0.07%, OCBC Bank, which slipped 0.42%, Venture, which fell 0.66%, Singtel, which declined 0.32% and Wilmar Intl, with a 1.60% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index slipped 1.12%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.56%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks closed solidly lower with major indexes suffering one of their worst sessions of the month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its losing streak to an eighth day as fears of a potential global trade war continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Energy (-1.93%) and Industrials (-1.19%) leading the declines while Real Estate (0.62%) and Utilities (0.33%) led the gains.

"The weakness on Wall Street overnight over trade war concerns could dampen local sentiment further today," OCBC Investment Research said.