Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.65%

Don’t expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 20.83 or 0.65% higher at 3,212.25.

The top active stocks were OCBC Bank, which grew 0.09%, DBS, which went up 0.72%, SGX, which dipped 1.61%, UOB, which edged up 0.97%, and YZJ Shipbldg SGD which rose 2.17%.

The FTSE Mid Cap grew 0.67% whilst the FTSE Small Cap rose 0.27%.

According to OCBC Investment Research (OIR), US stocks closed mostly higher, led by the healthcare and utilities sectors, whilst the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated as shares of Boeing Co. came under heavy pressure following a fatal crash over the weekend of a 737 Max aircraft.

Nine out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Health Care (0.67%) and Utilities (0.62%) while Industrials (-0.91%) and Consumer Staples (-0.02%) lost ground.

“Despite seeing a 0.65% rebound yesterday, the STI was still short of testing the 3260 key resistance. And with today’s tone likely to be soft, we could see the STI drifting lower as 3260 could be a challenging obstacle to overcome for now,” OIR said.