Southeast Asian stock markets mostly rose on Friday, with Indonesia near a record high and Singapore hitting its highest in more than 10 weeks as investors sought out shares in companies likely to report good results. Indonesia, the region's best performer with an 18.1 percent return for the year to date, rose 0.4 percent and was just four points shy of its record high of 2,996.419 on May 4.
Thailand rose 0.8 percent to its highest since June 2 last year, Singapore closed up 0.5 percent at its highest since May 5, and both Malaysia and Vietnam edged up 0.2 percent. In Bangkok, top lender Bangkok Bank rose 2.4 percent, TMB Bank jumped 8.3 percent and Kasikornbank gained 1.9 percent due to expectations that banks will report strong quarterly earnings in coming days due to growth in corporate and government loans plus lower loan-loss provisions.
Shares in national carrier Thai Airways rose 5.73 percent due to optimism over its quarterly earnings. Kim Eng Securities said foreign exchange gains should cushion its results in the second quarter, when tourism was hit by political unrest. In Jakarta, the country's second-largest lender, Bank Central Asia, rose 2.5 percent and Bank Negara jumped over 7.5 percent, leading the gainers after Thursday's fall.
In Singapore, top lender DBS Group rose 1.2 percent and United Overseas Bank edged up 0.4 percent. In Malaysia, financial firm CIMB Group and Public Bank of Malaysia both gained over 0.7 percent. Bucking the trend, Manila fell 0.7 percent on profit taking, led by property firm Ayala Land, which fell 1.7 percent.
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