Singapore's stock market hit a 15-week high on Monday due to optimism over corporate results and high dividend payouts while Thai stocks climbed to their highest level in 26 months, supported by the recovery in the economy. Investors around Asia shrugged off news Chinese manufacturing shrank in July.
Singapore's index gained 1.25 percent after firms released quarterly earnings mostly in line with the consensus and announced higher dividends than last year, while the city-state's strong economic expansion also boosted the earnings outlook.
Singapore Exchange rose 1.7 percent after the bourse operator raised its final dividend to 15.75 Singapore cents a share from 15.50 cents last year. OCBC gained 0.6 percent after a positive outlook from the CEO of Singapore's second-biggest lender. Thailand, the best performing bourse in July, which had seen net foreign inflows for five sessions to Friday, finished 0.86 percent higher.
The SET index's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) was at 80.28 at the close on Monday, compared with Singapore's 71.59 and Malaysia's 72.27, Thomson Reuters data showed. Others were below 70. An RSI level of 70 and higher indicates the market is overbought.
Among outperformers, Thai Tap Water, the country's largest private tap-water supplier, rose 1.6 percent after it posted a 36 percent rise in second-quarter net profit and analysts rated the stock a "buy" thanks to the positive outlook for demand.
Indonesia, Asia's second best performer so far this year, fell 0.34 percent after higher-than-expected inflation in July raised worries about higher interest rates and dampened sentiment in bank shares, a Jakarta-based dealer said. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main share index gained 0.2 percent. Tanjong, which run utilities and gaming businesses, jumped 18.2 percent after a buyout offer from a vehicle of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan.
Comments
Comments are closed.