Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.18%

Expect muted gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 6.12 or 0.18% lower at 3,325.86.

The top active stocks were DBS, which grew 0.11%, SingTel, which increased 0.32%, OCBC Bank, which dipped 0.6%, UOB, which fell 0.26%, and YZJ Shipbldg SGD, which slipped 0.62%.

According to OCBC Investment Research (OIR), US stocks closed lower, though not far off records for indexes, as results from Goldman and Citigroup failed to thrill investors, who are looking to an early slate of earnings from banks to get a sense of the health of the broader economy.

Three out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Consumer Staples (0.33%) and Communication Services (0.08%) whilst Real Estate (-0.07%) and Industrials (-0.06%) led the losses.

“The mood today is likely to be soft, taking cues from the performance of Wall Street overnight,” OIR said.