Most Southeast Asian stock indexes fell on Thursday as escalating eurozone worries kept investors on the sidelines ahead of a crucial election in Greece over the weekend with Thailand and Singapore leading the declines. Thailand's benchmark SET index ended down 0.4 percent at 1,158.22, led by a 4 percent drop in top refiner Thai Oil Pcl on concerns about second-quarter earnings.
Singapore's Straits Times Index finished down 0.4 percent at 2,786.88. Stocks in Malaysia and Indonesia were little changed, edging up 0.01 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. Vietnam was down 0.13 percent while the Philippines gained 0.7 percent, resuming trade after a market holiday on Tuesday. Shares in Indonesian cement firms rose on the back of strong domestic cement sales. Semen Gresik Tbk jumped 3.2 percent while Holcim Indonesia Tbk gained 2.1 percent.
Broker Macquarie Research said Semen Gresik was its top pick. "We maintain our overweight stance on Indonesian cement due to healthy margins despite abundant new capacity and still strong demand drivers. Our top pick is Semen Gresik," it said in a report.