Most Southeast Asian stocks gained on Friday as shares in bluechip firms recovered from losses early in the week, but investors remained cautious ahead of US jobs data to gauge when a potential rollback of the US quantitative easing begins. The Philippine index extended its gain for a second session, climbing 1.4 percent to 6,701.95, with index heavyweights such as SM Investments Corp and Philippine Long Distance Telephone among most actively traded.
The index ended the week down 4.6 percent, the biggest weekly drop since May 2012, with the market seeing $189 million in net foreign outflows in the week to Thursday, according to Thomson Reuters data. Foreign selling sent Jakarta's Composite Index 2.7 percent lower on the day to 4,865.32, the lowest close since March 26. The index posted a weekly loss of 4 percent, its worst since September 2011.
Stocks in Thailand rebounded amid bargain hunting, with strong buying interest kicking in late in the session. The main SET index finished up 1.8 percent at 1,516.24, trimming its loss on the week to 2.9 percent. "Valuations have turned more supportive and the market is poised for a tactical recovery after the US FOMC meeting June 18-19. We view that given modest US growth and noticeably low US core inflation the FOMC will not signal an imminent tapering of QE," a KGI strategist wrote in a report.
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