Most Southeast Asian stocks ended slightly higher on Monday, paring earlier gains, but demand for commodities stocks such as Indonesia's Bumi Resources and Thailand's PTTEP continued as a new round of US monetary stimulus bolstered cyclical stocks.
Market investors appeared cautious on the outlook for the global economy and the euro zone crisis, traders said, prompting players to cash in on large-caps which rallied in the previous session following the US economic stimulus news. Thailand's benchmark SET index edged up 0.19 percent at 1,278.54, the highest close since June 1996, led by a 4.6 percent jump in energy explorer PTT Exploration and Production Pcl.
In Jakarta, the late reversal sent the main index down 0.04 percent, with finance index off 0.08 percent. But coal miners outperformed, including Bumi Resources, which was up 2.4 percent. Singapore's Straits Times Index ended up 0.3 percent at a one-month closing high of 3,078.72. Palm oil producer Wilmar International Ltd gained 1.5 percent but DBS Group Holdings fell 0.6 percent after Friday's 0.7 percent gain.
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