Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.48%

Expect more gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 14.73 points or 0.48% higher to 3071.64 on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +6.55%.

The top active stocks today were OCBC Bank, which gained 1.58%, DBS, which declined 0.37%, Singtel, which gained 0.78%, Global Logistic, which gained 0.37% and UOB, with a 0.88% advance.

According to OCBC Investment Research, this came as U.S. stocks closed slightly higher Tuesday, but off session highs, with the Nasdaq notching a new record while oil prices declined and the U.S. trade deficit hit its highest level in four years.

Meanwhile, six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher. The best performer was Consumer Staples (0.82%) and worst performer was Energy (-1.37%).

"The rebound on Wall Street overnight could lift local sentiment. Following yesterday’s gains, the STI will likely continue to inch higher to test the key 3075 resistance today," the brokerage firm said.

Here's more from OCBC:

Should this key obstacle be convincingly taken out, we expect the index to continue its march towards the 3100 subsequent key peak.

Meanwhile, we peg the immediate support at 3040, and keep the next support at 3000.

Overall volume jumped 37.4% with 3.7b units traded, and total value climbed 5.0% to S$1.3b, while average value/unit fell 23.6% to S$0.35.