Daily Briefing: STI up 0.15%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 5.25 points or 0.15% higher to 3518.48, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.40%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 0.73%, Singtel, which gained closed unchanged, Keppel Corp, which declined 2.45%, Genting Sing, which gained 2.36% and Venture, with a 2.53% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.22%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.07%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks ended sharply lower, with the Dow industrials down nearly 400 points as traders reacted to fresh political drama in Italy after a three-day weekend.

Nine out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with losses led by Financials (-3.37%) and Materials (-1.77%) whilst gains were registered by Real Estate (+0.25%) and Utilities (+0.04%).

“With rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty, the local sentiment could likely be cautious as investors catch up with latest news,” OIR said.