Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.83%

But don't expect any boost in the local markets today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 26.7 points or 0.83% higher to 3237.81 on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +12.39%.

According to SGX's Market Summary, the top active stocks were DBS, which gained 4.88%, OCBC Bank, which gained 2.00%, UOB, which gained 1.93%, Noble, which declined 4.65% and Singtel, with a 0.27% advance.

OCBC Investment Research said this came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a tiny gain while other major indexes posted small losses after the Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged, as expected, and indicated it remains on track to deliver two more rate increases by year-end.

Meanwhile, seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Real Estate (-1.25%) and Materials (-1.00%) while Financials (0.60%) led the gains.

Here's more from OCBC Investment Research:

The mixed performance on Wall Street overnight is unlikely to bring any inspiration to the local sentiment.

On the upside, we peg the initial hurdle at 3260, ahead of 3300; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 3200, followed by the next support at 3170.

Overall volume tumbled 35.5% with 1.5b units traded, and total value dipped 17.7% to S$1.2b, while average value/unit gained 27.8% to S$0.78.