Most Southeast Asian stock markets eked out slim gains on Thursday as investors awaited the European Central Bank's policy meeting due later in the day, with Thai stocks recouping most early losses, led by gains in Advanced Info Service. Bangkok's SET index closed at 1,499.81, down 0.04 percent, rebounding from its day low of 1,482.64.
Telecommunications company Advanced Info Service Pcl rose 3 percent after it reported a 131 percent increase in quarterly earnings and set a higher-than-expected dividend. UBS Investment Research told a press briefing the strength of domestic consumption remained supportive to Thai stock market, with its end-year SET index target set at 1,530 and energy, real estate and telecoms among its 'overweight' lists.
"Consumer credit as a percentage of household income stands at 47 percent; we believe 60 percent could be reached by 2015/16, at which point the Bank of Thailand could reign in credit," the broker said in a report. Weak earnings weighed on broader market in Singapore, with the Straits Times Index down 0.45 percent at 3261.77, weighed by a fall in CapitaMalls Asia Ltd shares, following weak quarterly earnings. Foreign investors sold Thai shares worth a net 3.04 billion baht ($102.15 million) and offloaded a net 33.07 million ringgit ($10.67 million) worth of Malaysian shares, stock exchange data showed.
Comments
Comments are closed.