Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose in holiday-thinned trade on Tuesday, with Indonesia climbing to two-week highs amid rising appetite for commodity stocks, seen as an inflation hedge. Trading volume was less than half of average in Indonesia and Thailand as many investors were reluctant to take new positions ahead of the long New Year holiday.
The Jakarta Composite Index ended almost 1 percent higher, although Southeast Asia's best performer this year still hovered below its record peak set early this month. Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.8 percent to a two-week high of 3,183.70. Singapore-based Najeeb Jarhom, head of research at AmFraser Securities, forecast a 2011 range of 2,900-3,000 to 3,500-3,600.
"Ironically, the absence of a year-end rally in the past seven weeks may save the market from the tricky situation last January, when the STI made an early major peak at 2,947 before slumping nearly 10 percent to 2,666 a month later," he said. Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.4 percent, erasing part of an early gain to seven-week highs, and Vietnam's main stock index rose 1.3 percent.
The Philippines' main index ended barely changed, but earlier it hit its highest level in more than two weeks. Manila attracted a net $103.6 million in foreign money on the day, the highest in two weeks, adding to $66 million on Thursday before the market's four-day holiday, Thomson Reuters data showed. Thailand's SET index added 0.9 percent.
Asian markets in general were flat, with shares in Japan and China easing as concern that further Chinese monetary tightening would cool the engine of world economic growth overshadowed Japanese data that pointed to improving demand. The MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent by 0856 GMT.
Across Southeast Asia, investors bought commodity stocks and some banking and food stocks, seen as the best bet if inflation rises. Indonesian food firm PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia jumped 9.6 percent, Thai energy explorer PTT Exploration and Production rose 2.1 percent, Sime Darby, a Malaysian plantations-to-energy conglomerate, gained 0.5 percent and Sinagaporean palm oil firm Golden Agri-Resources rose 2.6 percent.