Most Southeast Asian stocks rose for a third session on Tuesday as recently oversold shares continued to rebound, but volume slid as investors waited for more clarity on the US Federal Reserve's stimulus programme. The Philippine composite index, which measures the performance of 30 large-cap stocks soared 2.8 percent, bringing its gains over three sessions to 6.5 percent almost paring last week's loss.
Jakarta's Composite Index rose 1.4 percent, adding to the previous two-session rally of 3.6 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times Index climbed 1.5 percent after a combined gain of 1.7 percent on Monday and Friday. The Thai benchmark SET index bucked the trend, dropping nearly 3 percent to 1,427.42, as market players took profits late in session with the index near a psychological resistance of 1,500.
"The uncertainty about the US stimulus policy is still in the market and we have those short-term players who wanted to lock profits after two-day gains," said Teerawut Kanniphakul, a strategist at CIMB Securities (Thailand). The Thai stock market racked up a 4.8 percent gain in two sessions to Monday due to short-covering, but concerns about the US monetary policy kept more investors on the sidelines.