Greek resistance to the strict conditions attached to a bailout fund sapped recent momentum across Asia that has been spurred by hopes the global economy is improving.
The Philippines index ended down 1.25 per cent at its day’s low on late selling, with investors cashing in on recent gains in financials such as Bank of the Philippine Islands after the previous day’s surge that sent Manila to record high.
Jakarta’s Composite Index (JCI) ended down 0.5 per cent, falling at one point to its lowest in one week.
Traders attributed selling in Indonesian shares this week mainly to profit-taking. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s second-best performer in 2011, has gained 3.5 per cent this year. The only regional market to have a smaller gain in 2012 is Malaysia, which has risen 0.5 per cent.
Maxi Liesyaputra, equity analyst at BNI Sekuritas in Jakarta, said the JCI would be volatile in a range of 3,940 and 4,000 level in the near term. It closed at 3,955.45 on Tuesday.
In a choppy session, Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.6 per cent, Vietman’s Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange index gained 0.34 per cent and Thai SET index moved up 0.57 per cent by 0905 GMT.
Malaysia’s stock market was shut today for religious festivals and will reopen tomorrow.
In Bangkok, early losses were pared as investors selectively bought shares in a reporting season which runs to the end of the month.
“Foreign flow is pretty good today ... We continue to see them coming to the market,” said Andrew Yates, head of international equity sales at broker Asia Plus Securities in Bangkok.
“We know about Greece for the past year, so it’s nothing new. I don’t think it will have as much an impact as you would have thought,” he said.
By 0905 GMT, the MSCI index for Southeast Asia, made up of selected stocks, was trading up 0.26 per cent while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.12 per cent higher.
In Manila, Bank of the Philippine Islands, the biggest bank by market capitalisation, dropped 3.4 per cent, and number two Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co lost 1.3 per cent.
Consumer stocks led losers in Jakarta, with PT Astra International Tbk, the leading motorcycle dealer and a proxy for Indonesia’s consumer sector, fell 1.75 per cent. It hit a record high last month.\
Strong oil market bolstered positive sentiment toward the sector, with Brent futures held steady near US$116 today.
Singapore-listed Noble Group Ltd, one of Asia’s largest commodities suppliers, rose 2.1 per cent and Thai petrochemical firm PTT Global Chemical Pcl climbed 3.4 per cent. – Reuters
