Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in banks and commodities-related stocks as weak manufacturing data from China added to worries about the global economy caused by European and US budget problems. Short-term traders again dominated the markets but volume remained thin. Market turnover in Indonesia was half the 30-day average and volume in most others was below average.
Leading losers, Singapore's Straits Times Index ended down 1.5 percent, falling at one point to the lowest since October 10. Kuala Lumpur's Composite Index eased 0.3 percent, losing nearly 1 percent to a one-month low. In a choppy session, foreign-led selling pushed Indonesia down 1.3 percent, the Philippines edged down 0.4 percent and Thai stocks inched 0.05 percent lower.
Selective buying in blue chips limited losses in Manila, but brokers expected the global threat, including the worsening crisis in Europe, to continue to drag on the market. "The last couple of days have been boosted by the fact that there have been additions to the MSCI index of a couple of local issues," said Oliver Plana, head of sales at broker Asiasec Equities Inc.
Bucking the trend, Vietnam climbed 1.8 percent, adding to Tuesday's 0.7 percent gain, further rebounding from a drop to six-month lows early in the week. By 1017 GMT, MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 2.54 percent. In Singapore, lenders such as DBS Group Holdings Ltd were among the hardest hit, down 1.7 percent, after news of a planned stress test on banks by the US Federal Reserve added to worries about the global financial system.
Thai banks fell 0.7 percent. They had risen almost 2 percent on Tuesday after Moody's Investors Service maintained a stable outlook for the Thai banking system, saying the economic impact of recent floods would probably be temporary. A positive report from ratings agency Standard & Poor's, affirming Thailand's ratings, helped ease some selling pressure on the Thai market, brokers in Bangkok said.
Among actively traded stocks, Malaysian palm plantation stock IOI Corporation Bhd fell 1.2 percent and Indonesia's PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk dropped 4.5 percent as worries about a slowdown in global growth pulled down palm oil futures. Most bourses reported foreign outflows, Malaysia to the tune of 173 million ringgit ($54.45 million), Indonesia with $38 million, Thailand $41 million and the Philippines $0.8 million, Thomson Reuters and stock exchange data showed.