SE Asia Stocks: Indonesia, Philippine lower; Singapore near 1-year high
BANGKOK, Aug 1 – Most Southeast Asian stock markets were nearly flat to lower today as investors cashed in on recent gains in the region, cautious ahead of US Federal Reserve’s policy decision and the European Central Bank’s meeting.
Jakarta’s Composite Index fell 0.3 per cent, with Bank Rakyat down 0.7 per cent after yesterday’s 2.9 per cent gain. The Philippine index was down 0.2 per cent, reversing a 1.9 per cent gain over the past two sessions.
Bucking the trend, Singapore’s Straits Times Index finished up 0.5 per cent at 3,051.08, the highest close in nearly a year, building on a 5.5 per cent climb in July, the region’s best performer.
Valuations showed Singapore was relatively cheap, with the MSCI index of Singapore trading at 12.97 times the 12-month forward earnings, a 7.3 per cent discount to its 10-year average forward valuations, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S showed.
This compares with MSCI Philippines which traded at 15.57 times forward earnings, a 15.3 per cent premium and MSCI Indonesia at 12.44 times expected earnings, a 13.8 per cent premium, data showed. – Reuters
