Philippine shares jumped the most in a year on Tuesday, hitting a record high on foreign buying, while Vietnam climbed for a second straight session to a fresh ten-year high. Asian shares ex-Japan were nearly flat in afternoon trade, after paring gains and pulling away from the cusp of a record high.
"Asian markets are driven by the return of Japanese investors from their holiday break. So, we can see buying from those sources," said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc in Manila. Philippine shares closed 2 percent up at a record high of 8,923.72, with foreign investors net buying equities worth 1.42 billion pesos ($28.22 million).
Financials and industrial stocks accounted for more than half of the gains, with SM Prime Holdings Inc and International Container Terminal Services Inc closing up 3.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. "Buying from foreign funds is heightened by the fact that recently President Rodrigo Duterte signed a tax reform program that would spur infrastructure developments in the country," Cruz added.
Vietnam shares rose 1 percent in their eleventh gaining session out of twelve, marking their highest close since November 2007. Financials and materials pushed the index up, with Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam closing 5.6 percent higher.
Singapore closed up 0.4 percent, after touching a 32-month high during the day. Financials and industrial stocks were among the top gainers, with United Overseas Bank Ltd ending 2 percent higher. Thai shares ended largely flat while Indonesia's benchmark index closed 0.2 percent lower, snapping three straight sessions of gains as consumer staples and telecom stocks fell. An index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks fell 0.3 percent.