Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.05%

But don't expect any boost today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 1.68 points or 0.05% higher to 3177.27 on Friday, taking the year-to-date performance to +10.29%.

The top active stocks were Singtel, which declined 0.77%; DBS, which declined 0.63%; UOB, which gained 0.18%; OCBC Bank, which declined 0.31%; and CapitaLand, with a 0.81% advance.

According to OCBC, this came as US stocks closed fractionally lower, posting weekly losses after staggering through a choppy session as investors digested weaker-than-expected March jobs data and President Donald Trump’s late Thursday airstrike against Syria.

Meanwhile, six out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Utilities (-0.53%) whilst Consumer Staples (0.26%) led the gains. The index was down 0.30% for the week.

Here are the implications on Singapore:

The pullback on Wall Street Friday is unlikely to provide any cheer to the local bourse this morning.

With today’s tone likely to remain cautious, we expect the market to swing between 3150 and 3200. We keep the next resistance and support level at 3270 and 3100 respectively.

Overall volume was up 2.7% with 3.2b units traded, and total value climbed 21.7% to $1.2b, average value/unit jumped 18.4% to $0.38.

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