Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.47%

Brace for more losses today.

The Straits Times Index ended 13.28 points or 0.47% lower to 2788.8 on Friday, taking the year-to-date performance to -3.26%.

According to OCBC, this came as US stocks failed to defend gains, with the S&P 500 ending lower for a ninth straight session in the longest losing streak since December 1980.

Six S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Consumer Staples (-0.98%) while Real Estate (0.76%) led gains. For the month, the index retreated 1.94%.

The brokerage firm stated that this persistent weakness on Wall Street is likely to weigh further on local sentiment.

"We could see the STI adding further to its 0.5% loss, as well as its 6-day losing streak," it stressed.

Here's more from OCBC:

Dec WTI Crude lost 59 cents, or 1.32%, to close at US$44.07/barrel while Jan Brent fell 77 cents, or 1.66%, to end at US$45.58/barrel. For the month, WTI and Brent lost 4.01% and 4.22% respectively.

Gold for Dec delivery added US$1.20, or 0.09%, to close at US$1304.50/ounce while Dec Silver was down 5 cents, or 0.24%, to settle at US$18.37/ounce. For the month, Gold and Silver fell 3.34% and 7.38% each.

Overall volume shrank 20.1% with 1.9b units traded, and the total value jumped 4.7% to S$1.1b; while average value/unit climbed by 31.1% to S$0.58.