Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.51%

Expect extended gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 17.03 points or 0.51% higher to 3327.83 on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +15.52%.

The top active stocks yesterday were OCBC Bank, which gained 1.27%, ThaiBev, which gained 3.76%, Singtel, which gained 0.26%, Global Logistic, which closed unchanged and DBS, with a 0.65% advance.

OCBC Investment Research said the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at records Tuesday, while the Dow industrials posted gains, following better-than-expected results from a number of high-profile companies.

Meanwhile, seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Financials (1.27%) and Energy (1.26%) while Health Care (-0.68%) led the losses.

"The gains on Wall Street overnight could bring some cheer to the local bourse, potentially extending the STI’s 0.5% gains in the previous session," the brokerage firm said.