Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 1.7%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 59.62 points or 1.7% higher to 3557.82, taking the year-to-date performance to +4.55%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 2.19%, OCBC Bank, which gained 2.27%, UOB, which gained 2.96%, Singtel, which gained 1.19% and CapitaLand, with a 2.19% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 1.10%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.16%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, the Dow industrials ended lower Wednesday as IBM’s shares saw a beating. However, gains in shares of energy-related firms helped the broader market post modest gains.

Five out of 11 S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Energy (1.55%) and Industrials (1.02%) whilst Consumer Staples (-0.86%) and Telecommunication Services (-0.44%) led the declines.

"The muted performances on Wall Street overnight are unlikely to provide much in terms of cues to the local bourse today," OCBC said.