Most Southeast Asian stock indices eked out small gains on Thursday amid buying in large caps with low valuations, with Malaysia paring losses to end at an all-time high as investors built up positions in stocks with favourable earnings results. The region saw light trading volume ahead of market holidays, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines closed on Friday, reopening on Monday.
Malaysia's main index ended up 0.23 percent at 1,671.89, topping Wednesday's all-time closing high of 1,667.99 and leaving gains for the week at 0.3 percent, outperforming its peers in the region. Number three lender Public Bank rose for a seventh session, climbing 2.7 percent to a record close of 15.4 ringgit. Last week, Public Bank reported a rise in third quarter net profit to 983 million ringgit.
Singapore's key Straits Times Index was up 0.4 percent. It was up 0.28 percent on the week. Among the bright spots, Thailand's coal miner Banpu rose 1.3 percent and Indonesia's coal miner Adaro Energy was up 0.7 percent after Citi Research said it favoured the stocks due to compelling valuations and expected coal prices to recover modestly in 2013. Bangkok SET's index inched up 0.18 percent, losing 1.1 percent so far in the week. Investors sold banking shares, with the biggest Bangkok Bank off 1.1 percent to near five month lows after its weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
Comments
Comments are closed.