Southeast Asia's stock markets retreated on Monday as pessimism over the eurozone debt crisis triggered broad sell-offs in regional blue chips, with Indonesia and Singapore seeing their biggest losses in three weeks. Volumes were light, about two-thirds the region's monthly average, in part due to holidays in big Asian centres including China, Taiwan and South Korea.
Losses in Britain's leading shares, which kicked off the week with further price falls, helped to spur late selling in Southeast Asia. Indonesia posted its biggest fall in three weeks, sliding 2.6 percent on the day. Global risk aversion increased after a lack of any unified action at a weekend meeting of the G7 finance ministers and as Friday's resignation of a European Central Bank board member fuelled concerns about Europe's debt crisis.
Talk of a Greek default and possible rating downgrade of French banks further soured sentiment. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index plunged 2.9 percent to 2,743.58. Ng Kian Teck, lead analyst at SIAS Research in Singapore, expects the STI to trade downward for the rest of the week, with support eyed at 2,700 points.
Southeast Asia reported foreign outflows and falling currencies on Monday, with the Singapore dollar hitting its lowest level in more than two months amid market speculation that Singapore's central bank may ease its monetary policy next month. Malaysia posted outflows of 96 million ringgit ($32 million), stock exchange data showed. Indonesia reported $31.8 milion in outflows, with the Philippines seeing $6.4 million in outflows and Vietnam $0.04 million, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Foreign investors sold Thai stocks worth a net 2.36 billion baht ($78.5 million) on the day, Thai stock exchange said. Asian stocks slid on Monday, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan trading 3.1 percent lower by 0957 GMT. Among most actively traded, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd dropped 2.3 percent, Indonesia's largest lender Bank Mandiri plunged 4.2 percent and Thai top energy firm PTT eased 2.2 percent with oil prices falling.
In Bangkok, coal miner Banpu fell 1.3 percent as the stock traded ex dividend and as its offer to buy Australian coal explorer Hunnu Coal rattled the market over the potential debt and capital expenditure burdens. Among bright spots, shares of the Philippines' Philex Petroleum Corp jumped about 10 times its listing price on Monday, with the company said it may sell shares or debt to raise funds for a natural gas exploration project in the South China Sea.
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