Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.16%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 5.19 or 0.16% higher at 3,203.58.

The top active stocks were OCBC Bank, which rose 0.46%, DBS, which remained unchanged, UOB, which grew 0.24%, Hongkong Land USD, which declined 0.41%, and Singtel which remained unchanged.

The FTSE Mid Cap rose 0.15% whilst the FTSE Small Cap grew 0.02%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, stocks closed higher in a choppy, low-volume session following reports that the U.S. and China have made progress toward a trade deal even as investors weighed data showing U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter from above-trend rates.

Nine out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Materials (+0.95%) and Energy (+0.83%) whilst Utilities (-1.25%) and Communication Services (-0.50%) led the losses.

“The mildly positive signals in the US-China trade talks could provide an improved sentiment in the local markets today but the impact is likely to be muted,” OIR said.