Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.42%

Don't expect any boost from Wall Street today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 13.76 points or 0.42% lower to 3294.93 on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +14.38%.

The top active stocks yesterday were Singtel, which gained 0.53%, DBS, which declined 1.28%, Global Logistic, which closed unchanged, CapitaLand, which gained 0.53% and OCBC Bank, with a 1.49% fall.

OCBC Investment Research said the Dow industrials managed to eke out a third day of gains, but overall the main benchmarks ended little changed amid better-then-expected retail sales data and an abatement of tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Meanwhile, six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Telecommunication Services (-1.01%) and Consumer Discretionary (-0.90%) while Utilities (0.50%) led the gains.

"The muted performances on Wall Street overnight are unlikely to provide much of a boost to the local bourse this morning," OCBC Investment Research said.