Thai shares hit a more than two-week high on Thursday as PTT rallied on positive earnings prospects after the government raised the wholesale price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), while other Southeast Asian markets rose in line with broader Asia. Asian stocks rose on Thursday after upbeat US employment data and a halt to a slide in oil tempered investor risk aversion.
The Thai SET index rose 1.4 percent to 1,521.62, its highest close since December 24, extending Wednesday's climb amid bargain-hunting in battered banks. PTT, the most actively-traded stock by turnover on Thursday, closed up 1.8 percent at its highest in nearly three weeks. The LPG price, which will be raised to $488 a tonne, boded well for PTT which has shouldered losses from fuel subsidies given the energy giant has had to import LPG at global prices and sell them at the government-fixed price of $333 per tonne since 2008.
Malaysia's index ended six sessions of losses as the ringgit pulled off 5-1/2-year lows due to pressure over the past few weeks from concerns about the impact of tumbling oil prices on Malaysia's trade and fiscal balances. Among the outperformers, Singapore's key index ended the day up 1.4 percent at 3,345.11, a shy of its day's high, while the Philippines rose for a ninth session to its highest close since May 22.
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