Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.68%

The persistent weakness on Wall Street amidst trade war concerns may prevent gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 22.69 points or 0.68% lower to 3301.35, taking the year-to-date performance to -2.98%.

The top active stocks today were DBS, which slipped 0.59%, UOB, which rose 0.64%, Singtel, which declined 0.31%, OCBC Bank, which dipped 1.00% and Venture, with a 4.94% fall.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.75%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index slipped 0.67%.

According to OCBC Investment Research, US stocks finished in the red on Tuesday, albeit off session lows, as investors shed stocks following President Donald Trump’s late-Monday threat to slap an additional $400 billion in tariffs on China goods.

Six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Industrials (-2.14%) and Materials (-1.81%) whilst Telecommunication Services (1.42%) and Utilities (1.06%) led the gains.

"Persistent weakness on Wall Street overnight amidst trade war concerns could weigh further on local sentiment today," OCBC Investment Research noted.