Southeast Asia Stocks -Thai shares hit 2-wk low, M'sia up

BANGKOK: Thai stocks closed at their lowest in more than two weeks on Tuesday amid rising political tensions ahead of the Feb. 2 election, while Philippine shares extended losses for a second session with large caps under pressure due to more foreign selling.
    The key Thai SET index dropped 1.3 percent to
1,271.79, its lowest close since Jan. 10. Shares of airport
operator Airports of Thailand and Siam Commercial Bank
 were among those actively traded.
    Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has confirmed a general
election will be held on Feb. 2, deputy prime minister Pongtep
Tepkanjana told reporters late on Tuesday after a meeting at
which the election authority had proposed a delay because of
unrest in the capital.  
    Tisco Securities strategist Viwat Techapoonphol expected
near term weakness, with support for the benchmark at 1,260.
    "Concerns ahead of the weekend election appeared to be
increased and Thai market underperformed the region mainly
because of the political factor," he said.
    Foreign investors offloaded 3.3 billion baht ($100.29
million) of Thai shares on Tuesday, adding to Monday's $102
million, stock exchange and Thomson Reuters data showed.
    The Philippine main index ended down nearly 1 percent
at a one-week closing low of 6,022.81, weighed down by index
heavyweight Ayala Land and Ayala Corp.
    Foreign investors sold a net 1.14 billion peso ($25.11
million) of shares on Tuesday after selling 1.54 billion peso
($33.95 million) on Monday, stock exchange data showed.
    Stocks in Singapore gained 0.7 percent, Malaysia
 was up 0.1 percent and Indonesia rose 0.4
percent amid technical-led buying after recent falls due to
expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back its bond
buying further in a two-day meeting starting on Tuesday.
    Vietnam's stock market is closed from Tuesday to Feb.
5 for the country's Lunar New Year festival. 
    
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
 Change on day
 Market             Current     Prev Close    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   377.43        377.07       +0.10
 Singapore          3062.41       3042.43       +0.66
 Kuala Lumpur       1781.25       1778.88       +0.13
 Bangkok            1271.79       1288.59       -1.30
 Jakarta            4341.65       4322.78       +0.44
 Manila             6022.81       6081.61       -0.97
 
 Change on year
 Market             Current       End 2013    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   377.43        388.37       -2.82
 Singapore          3062.41       3167.43       -3.32
 Kuala Lumpur       1781.25       1866.96       -4.59
 Bangkok            1271.79       1298.71       -2.07
 Jakarta            4341.65       4274.18       +1.58
 Manila             6022.81       5889.83       +2.26
 Ho Chi Minh           --          504.63      +10.28
 
* 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         223,178,600          169,769,690      
 Kuala Lumpur      153,111,900          113,484,820      
 
 Bangkok             4,504,198            4,807,113      
 Jakarta         2,532,395,500        2,894,272,403    
 Manila                 67,552               71,538- Reuters