SE Asia Stocks: Gain on Spain; large caps rally boost for Thais
BANGKOK, June 11 – Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly higher today as a bailout for Spanish banks improved sentiment, with Thai stocks leading the way amid a flurry of short covering in large cap shares.
Thailand’s benchmark SET index posted its biggest daily gain in eight months, finishing up 2.8 per cent at 1,158.07, led by PTT Pcl, the country’s top energy firm and its biggest listed firm by market value. It rose 3.7 per cent.
“There’s a strong buying position for short covering today. Foreign investors were quite active and I think the market seems set for a good rebound from this point,” said Viwat Techapoonphol, senior strategist at broker Tisco Securities.
Stocks in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines gained 1.8 per cent, 0.5 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
The Philippine market will be shut for a holiday tomorrow and will reopen on Wednesday. – Reuters
