Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.12%

Mixed showing on Wall Street will keep overall sentiment cautious.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 3.43 points or 0.12% higher to 2885.22, taking the year-to-date performance to +0.09%.

According to OCBC, U.S. stocks came in flattish on Thursday as seven out of 11 industries ended higher, with Materials leading the gains at 0.75% while Healthcare gaining the most decline at 0.39%.

The brokerage firm said this could keep overall sentiment fairly cautious, and hence limit the near-term upside.

Here's more from OCBC:

We peg the immediate support at 2845, ahead of 2825; on the upside, we continue to peg the initial hurdle at 2900, ahead of 3000.

Overall volume dropped 2.5% with 2.3b units traded, and the total value gained 12.5% to S$1b; while average value/unit was up 15% to S$0.45.