Some Southeast Asian bourses posted small gains on Wednesday but investors remained wary of turmoil in the Middle East and sought refuge in defensive stocks such as telecoms, selling energy shares as oil fell back. Market volume picked up as the region's valuations helped lure buyers to selected sectors. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all saw turnover go above their 30-day average.
The main Thai index fell marginally on the day but broker CIMB raised its rating on Thailand to "overweight" from "neutral" and maintained Indonesia at "overweight". It put Singapore and Malaysia at "neutral". The MSCI index of Thailand carries a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.4, down from more than 12 in late 2010, Thomson Reuters Datastream shows. The MSCI indexes of other Southeast Asian bourses carry forward valuations of 12-14 times.
Like most others in Southeast Asia, the Thai market suffered outflows in January as funds shifted to North Asia and developed world stock markets. But the region has rebounded since late February, with most now hovering around multi-week highs. In Bangkok, investors booked quick profits in big banks that had been bought in the run-up to Wednesday's central bank meeting, when the policy rate was increased by 25 basis points, as expected.
Energy shares fell as Brent crude dropped for a third day after reassurances from Opec members of ample spare capacity, which eased worries about lower output from Libya, the world's 12th-largest oil exporter. Thailand's biggest oil and gas firm, PTT, lost 1.2 percent and Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy fell 2.1 percent. Investors put money into telecom shares, pushing Singapore Telecommunications 1.3 percent higher and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesia's biggest telecommunications firm, up 2.1 percent.