Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.35%

Investors are urged to take caution.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 12.52 points or 0.35% lower to 3532.86, taking the year-to-date performance to +3.82%.

The top active stocks were OCBC Bank, which declined 3.52%, DBS, which gained 0.59%, Venture, which gained 5.36%, UOB, which gained 0.76% and Singtel which closed unchanged.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.11%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.35%.

OCBC Investment Research noted that U.S. stock benchmarks finished higher on Monday, but well off the peak of the day, as energy shares pulled back following a late-afternoon tweet from President Donald Trump indicated that a decision was imminent on whether the U.S. would decertify a 2015 Iran nuclear pact.

Seven out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, with Information Technology (0.79%) and Industrials (0.69%) leading the gains whilst Consumer Staples (-0.65%) and Telecommunication Services (-0.61%) led the declines.

“Despite the gains on Wall Street overnight, local sentiment could be cautious today as investors await more clarity about the Iran deal,” OCBC added.

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