BANGKOK, June 20 – Most Southeast Asian stock markets remained depressed today as a delay in a final decision on extending emergency loans to Greece ate into risk appetite and a fall in crude prices triggered selling in resource stocks.
The markets traded in a fairly narrow range, most still seeing weak volume, as last week, with turnover in the Thai and Indonesian bourses half the 30-day average.
Thailand’s SET Index fell 0.6 per cent, extending losses into a fourth session, while Vietnam dropped 1.7 per cent to the lowest in almost two weeks and Malaysia edged down 0.3 per cent, with the selling led by local investors.
Late bargain-hunting helped reverse early losses in Singapore and Indonesia , which ended up 0.28 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively.
The trend in the region would remain weak, brokers said.
“It’s still a hard time for stocks as development on a resolution for Greece is slow,” said Rakphong Chaisuparakul, a strategist at KGI Securities in Bangkok.
Fund flows were mixed, with Indonesia and Thailand reporting mild outflows of US$4.7 million and US$11 million respectively. Malaysia gained US$70 million in inflows on top of the US$227 million that came in last week.
Dealers in Bangkok said they expected market sentiment there to remain bearish as investors waited to see the outcome of the July 3 general election and the formation of a new government.
The Philippine market was shut today.
Asian stocks flipped back into the red amid the Greek debt jitters. By 1024 GMT, the MSCI index of shares outside Japan fell 0.9 per cent after being up as much as 0.6 per cent earlier. It has fallen for eight consecutive weeks.
The weak global oil market, with crude oil prices falling by more than US$1 today, weighed on sentiment in stocks from coal miners to palm oil and commodities firms.
Among losers, Bumi Resources, Asia’s biggest thermal coal exporter, lost 2.5 per cent, top Thai oil firm PTT fell 0.3 per cent and the world’s largest-listed palm oil firm, Wilmar International, dropped 2 per cent.
In Singapore, property stocks rebounded after a selloff last week on concerns about China’s slowing economy and policy risks.
Property developer Keppel Land was one of the leading gainers, rising 3.2 per cent, and Citi Development added 1.2 per cent. – Reuters
