Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 1.13%

Expect some bad news today.

According to SGX, the Straits Times Index (STI) ended 38.66 points or 1.13% lower to 3377.24, taking the year-to-date performance to -0.75%.

The top active stocks were DBS, which gained closed unchanged, Singtel, which declined 0.59%, UOB, which declined 1.09%, OCBC Bank, which declined 0.57% and Keppel Corp, with a 3.19% fall.

OCBC Investment Research added that the US stock-market indexes did an about-face in late-Friday action, booking sharp gains for the session, but recording the worst weekly losses in about two years, during one of the most frenetic stretches of trading on Wall Street.

Ten out of 11 S&P 500 industries finished higher, led by Information Technology, which rose 2.53%, and Real Estate, which rose 2.4%, whilst Energy, which fell 0.35%, bucked the trend. The index retreated 5.16% for the week.

"Despite the gains on Wall Street Friday, local sentiment is likely to remain cautious today, limiting any potential upside," OCBC said.