Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.96%

Don't expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 31.49 or 0.96% higher at 3,311.27.

The top active stocks were DBS, which rose 2.53%, OCBC Bank, which soared 1.76%, Ying Li Intl, which grew 0.73%, UOB, which jumped 1.4%, and Singtel which went up 0.33%.

The FTSE Mid Cap dipped 0.22% whilst the FTSE Small Cap went down 0.04%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, stock benchmarks closed in positive territory, but off their intraday highs, as investors reacted to upbeat comments on US-China trade talks but weighed a shaky private-sector employment report.

Five out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Materials (1.34%) and Information Technology (0.83%) while Energy (-0.96%) and Consumer Staples (-0.63%) led the declines.

"Despite the gains on Wall Street overnight, we expect today’s tone to be soft as investors are looking for fresh catalysts to sustain the equities rally," OIR said.