Southeast Asian markets closed lower on Friday with Thai stocks easing to a near one-month low on continued foreign fund outflow while others declined as investors waited for more macroeconomic cues. The Thai SET index was dragged down 0.4 percent to its lowest close since February 2, led by declines in financials, with Bank of Ayudhya leading the losers with a 5.3 percent fall.
Thai shares saw net foreign outflow of $23.71 million on Friday, extending the pullback by foreign investors to $293.13 million in the four straight sessions through Friday, Thomson Reuters data showed. "The forward PE ratio is 15 times, which is very expensive for this market," said Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst with Phillip Capital in Bangkok. "Foreigners might wait until Thai shares become attractive."
Banking sector growth remains fragile as all banks, except Kasikornbank Pcl and Bangkok Bank Pcl, reported slower loan growth in January, Maybank Kim Eng Securities said in an investor note. The Philippine index fell 0.4 percent, Singapore eased 0.7 percent, and Vietnam ended 0.7 percent lower. Bucking the trend, Malaysia ended steady with $78.15 million in foreign inflow, while Indonesia ended marginally lower with $16.35 million in net purchases by foreign investors.