By Ambar Warrick March 13 (Reuters) – Most Southeast Asian stock marketsclosed higher on Monday, with the Philippines clocking itsbiggest single-day percentage gain in nearly a month as bargainhunters stepped in following Friday’s last-minute selloff. Philippine shares closed 1.2 percent higher, helpedby gains in industrials with conglomerate SM Investments Corp single-handedly pushing up the index. SM Investments shares ended up 7.8 percent after shedding9.2 percent on Friday. Shares of real estate companies also rose, with Ayala Land rising 2 percent to its highest close since Feb. 23. “There was a big last-minute selloff in SM Investments onFriday,” said Mikey Macanaig, an analyst with Sunsecurities Inc. Other Southeast Asian markets saw muted trading withinvestors staying wary after Friday’s strong U.S. jobs datasealed the chance of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve onWednesday. Fed Chair Janet Yellen signalled last week that the U.S.central bank would likely raise rates at its March 14-15 policymeeting. “Markets are getting ready for the rate hike which is goingto be announced this week… Jobs data from the U.S. market lastweek was better than expected. So, the rate hike seems all themore imminent now,” added Macanaig. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.84 percent at 0812 GMT. Singapore shares closed at their highest since August2015, helped by gains in financial and telecom stocks.Oversea-Chinese Banking closed at its highest sinceFeb. 23, while Singapore Telecommunications closed ata two-week high. Indonesia closed at its highest in a week, while theindex of the 45 most liquid stocks remained largelyunchanged. Thailand fell for the third straight session,closing at its lowest in two-and-a-half months. Financials andreal estate stocks were the worst performers, with hire purchasefinancier Group Lease falling 29.9 percent to close atits lowest since December 2015. Vietnam shares closed lower, with consumer staplesbeing the main drag. The country’s coffee export volume thisyear is expected to fall 20 to 30 percent from a year earlierdue to drought and reduced inventory, an industry official saidon Sunday.For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change on day Market Current Previous Pct Move Close Singapore 3147.15 3133.35 0.44 Bangkok 1535.51 1539.91 -0.29 Manila 7233.09 7146.27 1.21 Jakarta 5409.372 5390.677 0.35 Kuala Lumpur 1721.92 1717.58 0.25 Ho Chi Minh 710.17 712.21 -0.29 Change so far this year Market Current End 2016 Pct Move Singapore 3147.15 2880.76 9.25 Bangkok 1535.51 1542.94 -0.48 Manila 7233.09 6840.64 5.58 Jakarta 5409.372 5296.711 2.13 Kuala Lumpur 1721.92 1641.73 4.88 Ho Chi Minh 710.17 664.87 6.59 (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by SubhranshuSahu)
September 5, 2024
