Most Southeast Asian markets higher

Most Southeast Asian markets gained on Thursday, with banking shares outperforming in Malaysia before the central bank rate decision, while stocks in Indonesia and Thailand closed at their highest in more than a week. Malaysia's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent on Thursday, holding off from a second tightening in less than three months after recent signs of a slowdown in exports and credit growth.
The rate decision came after the market closed. Kuala Lumpur's composite index ended a tad higher, with shares of Public Bank and Maybank rising in strong volume. Local institutions and domestic retail investors bought Malaysian stocks worth a net 129.6 million ringgit ($40.12 million) and 11.5 million ringgit, respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers, stock exchange data showed. Jakarta's composite index edged up 0.4 percent while the Thai index closed up 0.9 percent, both hitting their highest closing levels since September 8.