Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.65%

Expect some boost today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 20.54 points or 0.65% lower to 3117.03, taking the year-to-date performance to +8.20%.

The top active stocks today were Noble, which declined 16.67%, DBS, which declined 0.11%, CapitaLand, which gained 0.28%, Keppel Corp, which closed unchanged and Singtel, with a 0.50% fall.

This came as U.S. stocks staged a last-minute rally on Friday, with major indexes turning positive ahead of the closing bell and the Dow extended its record-setting streak as investors shrugged off concerns the rally was overdone, OCBC said.

Meanwhile, nine out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Utilities (1.39%) while Energy (-0.89%) and Financials (-0.75%) lost ground. The index was up 0.69% for the week.

"The gains on Wall Street Friday could provide a modest boost to the local bourse today," OCBC predicted.

Here's more from the firm:

On the upside, we keep the initial hurdle at 3140, ahead of 3165; on the flip side, we maintain the immediate support at 3100, followed by the next support at 3070.

Overall volume shrank 7.8% with 3.2b units traded, and total value fell 16.3% to S$1.4b, while average value/unit dipped 9.2% to S$0.44.