Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.76%

Don’t expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 23.2 or 0.76% lower at 3,045.97.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index fell 3.55% whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index slipped 2.38%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which grew 0.06%, UOB, which slipped 0.13%, Singtel, which dipped 0.07%, OCBC, which was down 0.09%, and Genting Sing, with a 0.01% fall.

According to OCBC Investment Research, major benchmarks closed lower as tech weakness prevented stocks from holding on to earlier gains. Investors also remained cautious following last week’s equity-market rout, sparked in part by rising US interest rates.

Seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Information Technology (-1.64%) and Energy (-0.82%) whilst Consumer Staples (0.60%) and Real Estate (0.51%) led the gains.

“We expect the investors to remain cautious today, following the weakness on Wall Street overnight,” OCBC Investment Research said.