Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.47%

But don't expect any boost today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 14.85 points or 0.47% higher to 3145.29 on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date performance to +9.18%.

The top active stocks today were Global Logistic, which gained 2.25%, DBS, which gained 1.00%, YZJ Shipbldg SGD, which declined 4.66%, Singtel, which gained 0.77% and Keppel Corp, with a 1.84% fall. 

Here's what OCBC has to say:

The Dow industrials and S&P 500 closed lower for a third consecutive session Wednesday as oil prices dropped and a stronger-than-expected report on private-sector employment helped to bolster expectations for an interest-rate hike next week.

Seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Energy (-2.54%) and Utilities (-1.54%) leading the declines while Consumer Discretionary (0.31%) and Health Care (0.31%) led the gains.

Apr WTI Crude fell US$2.86, or 5.38%, to close at US$50.28/barrel while May Brent lost US$2.81, or 5.03%, to end at US$53.11/barrel.

Gold for Apr delivery slipped US$6.70, or 0.55%, to close at US$1209.40/ounce while May Silver decreased by 24 cents, or 1.36% to settle at US$17.30/ounce.

The muted reactions on Wall Street overnight are unlikely to bring any cheer to the local sentiment this morning.

On the upside, we peg the initial hurdle at 3165, ahead of 3180; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 3120, followed by its next support at 3060.

Overall volume climbed 3.8% with 2.6b units traded, and total value rose 1.7% to S$1.1b, while average value/unit fell 2.1% to S$0.43.