South East Asian markets: Singapore marks fifth straight winning month, Indonesia up

Singapore's shares edged up on Wednesday, clocking their fifth straight winning month, while Indonesian stocks also rose in the session, extending their gains to the fourth consecutive month. Asian markets were buoyed by data showing the manufacturing sector in China grew faster than expected in May on robust construction and infrastructure investment.
While China's PMI data has had a short-term effect on the Southeast Asian markets, it does not look like a game changer, said Taye Shim, head of research at Jakarta-based Mirae Asset Sekuritas. Philippine shares fell 0.3 percent, closing at its lowest in a week, dragged by telecom stocks such as PLDT Inc and real estate stock Ayala Land. However, the index clocked a monthly gain of 2.3 percent.
"The market has fallen prey to profit-taking in the absence of any market-scaling developments," said Manny Cruz, an analyst with Manila-based Asiasec Equities Inc. Indonesian shares closed up 0.8 percent, with PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk and PT Semen Baturaja (Persero) Tbk driving the gains. An index of Indonesia's 45 most liquid stocks gained as much as 0.9 percent. Singapore shares rose 0.2 percent, bringing its monthly gain to 1.1 percent.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, the city-state's second biggest lender, rose to its highest in nearly a week, while beer manufacturer Thai Beverage Pcl rose as much as 5.4 percent and was the biggest contributor to the index's gains. Rating agency Moody's Investors Service raised its outlook on Singapore's banks to stable from negative, saying loan growth would increase mildly but be sustained by the system's strong capital, funding and liquidity buffers. Meanwhile, Thai shares ended at its lowest in more than a week. Mobile operator Advanced Info Service Pcl posted its biggest drop in eight weeks, pulling the index down.