Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 1.2%

Expect muted gains today.

According to OCBC, the muted close on Wall Street ahead of the long weekend could continue to keep local sentiment pretty cautious this morning, especially with HK still shut for holiday.

Here's more from OCBC:

As before, the technical charts suggest that the STI may have recently peaked around the key 2900 hurdle and we could see more near-term downside risk should profit-taking continues; this bringing the index back towards 2800. 

We note that the near-term fundamental outlook also appears to be quite muted, with Feb’s manufacturing output shrinking by a larger-than-expected 4.7% YoY. 

However, potential window dressing may emerge towards the month end, with focus on key index components like Singtel, KepCorp, and the banks.
Key hurdle remains at 2900, ahead of 2918 (38.2% retracement of plunge from 3549 to 2528).