Daily Market Briefing: STI down 0.44%

Don’t expect any gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 15.69 points or 0.44% lower to 3513.23, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.24%.

The top active stocks were Singtel, which declined 0.30%, DBS, which declined 0.04%, Venture, which gained 0.15%, YZJ Shipbldg SGD, which declined 9.26% and UOB, with a 0.54% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.23%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.35%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks finished mostly lower on the back of a fall in crude-oil futures, sparked by reports that OPEC and major oil-producer Russia were considering increasing output, weighed on shares of energy-related companies.

Six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with losses led by Energy (-2.61%) and Telecommunications (-0.59%) whilst gains were registered by Real Estate (+0.45%) and Utilities (+0.42%).

“The holiday mood on Wall Street resulting in lower trading volumes could likely be mirrored with the local sentiment today. Active investors will continue to monitor the impacts of developments in the geopolitical space,” OIR said.