Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.48%

Expect some profit-taking today.

The STI ended 13.56 points or 0.48% higher to 2830.63, taking the year-to-date performance to -1.81%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, this came after US stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed stronger-than-expected quarterly results from a roster of companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Netflix Inc.

More so, all S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Health Care (1.07%) and Materials (0.94%).

This upturn could extend STI's 3-days winning streak, OCBC said.

"The gains on Wall Street overnight could bring some cheer to the local bourse today," the brokerage firm noted.

Here's more from OCBC:

Gold for Dec delivery gained US$6.30, or 0.50%, to close at US$1262.90/ounce while Dec Silver added 16 cents, or 0.94%, to settle at US$17.64/ounce.

We peg the initial hurdle at 2880, followed by the 2900 subsequent resistance level; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 2795, ahead of 2725.

Overall volume dipped 28.7% with 2.1b units traded, and the total value dropped 9.3% to S$0.9b; while average value/unit rose 27.2% to S$0.43.