South East Asian stocks fall

Singapore shares fell almost 1 percent on Thursday, leading losses in other Southeast Asian markets amid lingering worries over Greece's fiscal problems, with a stronger dollar prompting selling in resource shares. The Straits Times Index ended down 0.9 percent, after a three-day run to a three-week high, with actively traded gaming group Genting dropping 6.9 percent and commodities firm Olam International 2.7 percent.
Indonesia, which had gained in the previous two sessions, dropped 0.83 percent, Thailand lost 0.3 percent and the Philippines 0.6 percent. Malaysia edged down 0.01 percent. Vietnam is closed for the week. "The indicators for risk demand were not as bright as in the previous session," Rakpong Chaisuparakul, a strategist at KGI Securities in Bangkok, said in a note to clients.
"This reflects the fact that the situation on the European side did not get any better. For the Greece issue, we need to wait until March 16 to see the stance of other euro zone countries and Greece's bailout." Among losers in Bangkok, PTT Chemical eased 1.3 percent and PTT Exploration and Production was down 0.4 percent.
Selective buying in growth and dividend stocks boosted chicken exporter Charoen Pokphand Foods, which was up 1.7 percent, and second-ranked mobile phone operator Total Access Communication, which gained 1.5 percent. The political situation remained the focus in Thailand as supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were expected to stage protests around the February 26 ruling on whether his assets had been illegally built up.
In Jakarta, the biggest listed telecommunication firm, Telekomunikasi Indonesia, was off 0.6 percent and coal miner Bumi Resources fell 4.1 percent. In Kuala Lumpur, the index ended a four-day rise, weighed down by a 2.2 percent loss in Genting and a 0.6 percent fall in palm plantation firm IOI Corp.
In Manila, the main index retreated after a six-day rise, easing 0.6 percent, with selling seen in recent gainers such as conglomerate SM Investments Corp and Philex Mining, each falling over 3 percent. "Today we saw a correction within the six-day technical rebound, but what's not clear is if this is a resumption of the downtrend," said Jose Vistan, an analyst at AB Capital Securities.