Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.09%

Don't expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 3.04 points or 0.09% lower to 3235.9, taking the year-to-date performance to -4.91%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which dipped 0.87%, Genting Sing, which closed unchanged, Singtel, which declined 0.98%, UOB, which rose 0.38% and OCBC Bank, with a 0.35% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.31%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.02%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stock-market indexes closed lower, reversing earlier gains as losses in the technology and financials sectors outweighed advances in energy, telecoms and real-estate shares.

Five out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Information Technology (-1.37%) and Financials (-1.05%) leading the declines while Telecommunication Services (1.16%) and Energy (0.72%) led the gains.

"We expect today’s tone to remain soft as trade tensions continue to weigh on local sentiment, pushing the STI ever close to its 3230 immediate support," OCBC Investment Research noted.