Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday, with the Philippines reflecting little change after the central bank's guidance on monetary policy, while the Thai index hit a two-year low amid foreign-led selling and losses in telecom shares. Philippine index edged up 0.03 percent with interest rate-sensitive banking stocks mixed. Stock exchange data showed that BDO Unibank gained 1.6 percent on foreign buying while Metropolitan Bank dropped 2.8 percent as foreign investors exit their holdings.
The Philippine central bank stated there is no urgent need to change its monetary policy settings as it expects growth to remain strong, after data showed the annual headline inflation picking up more than expected in December. Bangkok's SET index fell for a second day, down 0.8 percent at 1,253.34, the lowest close since January 2014. Stock market posted a net foreign selling of 3.6 billion baht ($99.6 million). Shares of Advanced Info Service plunged 8.4 percent, followed by a 7 percent slide in True Corp, leading to brokers raising concerns about the recent high-bidding prices of 4G mobile spectrums.
"Selloffs came in many big sectors today due to consensus earnings downgrades. Telecom shares in particular were badly hit," said Pichai Lertsupongkij, senior investment analyst, Thanachart Securities. Fund flows in the region were mixed. The overall stock market in Malaysia posted a net selling of 76 million ringgit ($17.51 million) and the Philippines' net selling of 126 million peso ($2.68 million), stock exchange data showed. Indonesia reported net foreign buying for a second straight day of 73 billion rupiah ($5.27 million).