BANGKOK: Thai shares recovered strongly on Thursday to a near four-week high on foreign buying as the
capital Bangkok returned to calm after weeks of political unrest, while other Southeast Asian markets mostly ended firmer though Singapore underperformed.
The Thai SET index outperformed the region with a
1.4 percent gain, ending at 1,308.34 points, its highest close
since Dec. 26, Thomson Reuters data showed.
The strong recovery was led by bank and energy shares.
Foreign investors bought a net $56.55 million worth of
shares on Thursday after the Thai market saw a $221.4 million
outflow in seven straight sessions through Wednesday.
Thailand's Constitutional Court on Thursday deferred a
ruling on whether a general election scheduled for Feb. 2 can be
postponed, as protesters who say they will boycott the vote kept
up pressure on the government to step down.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared a 60-day state
of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas from Wednesday,
hoping to prevent an escalation in the protests now in their
third month.
The Philippines index ended 0.5 percent firmer at its
highest close since Dec. 3, led by a 3.8 percent gain in BDO
Unibank Inc after the IMF raised the country's growth
forecast.
Cautious investors are awaiting directions from the U.S.
Federal Reserve, which some market players expect to further
trim its bond buying next week even as Chinese manufacturing
data pointed to a mild slowdown in the new year.
Vietnam's benchmark VN Index closed up 0.3 percent
and the Jakarta Composite index ended up 0.4 percent at
its highest level since Nov. 1.
Bucking the trend, Singapore underperformed the
region with a 1.1 percent loss, while Malaysia fell 0.3
percent with a foreign outflow of $100.23 million, echoing
sluggishness in Asian markets as investors remained cautious
about Chinese manufacturing data.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on day
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 385.41 385.16 +0.07
Singapore 3100.24 3133.74 -1.07
Kuala Lumpur 1808.31 1814.10 -0.32
Bangkok 1308.34 1290.49 +1.38
Jakarta 4496.04 4477.49 +0.41
Manila 6170.05 6139.86 +0.49
Ho Chi Minh 553.55 551.92 +0.30
Change on year
Market Current End 2013 Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 385.41 388.37 -0.76
Singapore 3100.24 3167.43 -2.12
Kuala Lumpur 1808.31 1866.96 -3.14
Bangkok 1308.34 1298.71 +0.74
Jakarta 4496.04 4274.18 +5.19
Manila 6170.05 5889.83 +4.76
Ho Chi Minh 553.55 504.63 +9.69
* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Stock Market Volume (shares)
Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days
Singapore 234,692,700 170,291,380
Kuala Lumpur 177,386,100 106,887,910
Bangkok 4,576,686 4,843,166
Jakarta 3,157,704,200 2,909,648,633
Manila 71,511 67,948
Ho Chi Minh 73,716 88,539= Reuters
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