Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.61%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 20.03 points or 0.61% higher to 3280.87, taking the year-to-date performance to -3.59%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained 1.05%, OCBC Bank, which is up 0.69%, UOB, which rose 1.45%, Singtel, which gained 0.32% and Genting Sing, with a 1.67% advance.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.67%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index slipped 0.04%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that US stocks closed off session highs, though still in positive territory, as equity benchmarks attempted to recover some of the sharp losses from the previous session.

Six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher. The best performers were Energy (1.40%) and Consumer Discretionary (0.68%), and worst performers were Consumer Staples (-0.45%) and Telecommunication Services (-0.42%).

"Despite the modest rebound on Wall Street overnight, we expect the overall sentiment to remain cautious today as uncertainty over trade disputes remains in focus," OCBC Investment Research said.