Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.43%

The tone might be cautious today with investors assessing the US-China trade talks.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 13.16 or 0.43% lower at 3,059.28.

The top active stocks were DBS, which fell 0.31%, Singtel, which dipped 0.01%, UOB, which dropped 0.28%, OCBC, which fell 0.02%, and ComfortDelGro, with a 0.02% advance.

The FTSE Mid Cap rose 0.16% whilst the FTSE Small Cap dipped 0.58%.

The OCBC Investment Research (OIR) said that US stocks closed mostly lower in a session that saw the key indexes weave in and out of positive territory as investors weighed mounting political tension in the nation’s capital against renewed optimism over US-China trade talks.

Three out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Financials (-1.02%) and Industrials (-0.60%) leading the declines whilst Consumer Staples (0.85%) and Health Care (0.30%) led the gains.

"We expect the local sentiment to remain somewhat cautious today, as investors continue to assess the prospect for a trade deal," OIR commented.