Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.1%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index ended 2.98 or 0.1% lower at 3,090.40.

The top active stocks were DBS, which advanced 0.11%, UOB, which rose 0.17%, OCBC, which grew 0.06%, Singtel, which dipped 0.02%, and Genting Sing, with a 0.02% fall.

The FTSE Mid Cap slipped 1.03% whilst the FTSE Small Cap rose 0.45%.

OCBC Investment Research (OIR) noted that stocks bounced back from early losses to close higher as gains in so-called defensive sectors helped to offset anxieties that a near-term resolution to trade tensions between the US and China remain elusive.

Eight out of eleven of the S&P 500 industries closed higher, led by Health Care (0.99%) and Consumer Staples (0.91%).

"The US indices closed moderately higher overnight but we think this is unlikely to translate into a very significant boost for the local markets," OIR said.