BANGKOK, Nov 16 - Singapore’s stock index climbed to its highest in 15 months today, leading gains in other major Southeast Asian stock markets as investors snapped up banks and CapitaLand gained on plans to list its mall unit.
The Straits Times Index ended up 2.1 per cent at its highest since Aug 18, 2008, led by a 5.2 per cent surge in United Overseas Bank, a 4.2 per cent climb in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, and a 3 per cent gain in DBS.
Investors took the view Singapore’s banks were in a better position than global peers to profit from post-crisis growth. “Singapore is quite bullish today, driven by banking and property shares. The three banks were supported by their quarterly results, which were above analysts’ expectations,” said a dealer at a brokerage firm in Singapore.
“CapitaLand is lifting sentiment in property shares. Investors are hoping the IPO price of its shopping mall unit will be at the top of the range. The price will be announced tomorrow,” the dealer said.
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, gained 2.4 per cent, ahead of the announcement of the price of a planned US$2 billion (RM6.8 bllion) IPO of its shopping mall unit.
Dealers also attributed positive sentiment in the region to a statement by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping (Apec) which endorsed stimulus measures to keep the world from sliding back into recession.
CIMB Investment Bank said it expected a recovery in the US economy to buoy global stock markets. “We remain mid-term positive on equity markets. US corporate profits are on a recovery trend and the sharp run-up of valuations in recent months is justified by strong return on equity (ROE) and earnings per share (EPS) upgrades,” its research note said.
Indonesia’s stock index rose 1.7 per cent to its highest since Oct 26, with the biggest lender, Bank Mandiri, up 4.8 per cent and coal miner Bumi Resources surging 6.1 per cent.
Malaysia’s index was up 0.6 per cent, led by a 2.8 per cent rise in financial CIMB Group Holdings following its plan to raise about 4.5 billion baht ($136 million) from a public offering in the Thai market by the middle of 2010.
Its 94 per cent owned CIMB Thai Bank gained 2.3 per cent on the Thai bourse, while the broader Thai stock market was up 1.2 per cent on the day.
Among gainers in Kuala Lumpur, shipping firm MISC rose 2.2 per cent and Petronas Gas was up 1.5 per cent.
In Bangkok, top industrial conglomerate Siam Cement rose 3.3 per cent, the biggest coal miner, Banpu, surged 5.6 per cent and chicken exporter Charoen Pokphand Food was up 6.4 per cent. Bucking the trend, Thai Airways lost 1 per cent after the national carrier reported a larger-than-expected quarterly net loss of 4.03 billion baht.
The Philippines fell 0.8 per cent, adding to a 1.3 per cent drop on Friday, with Philex Mining Corp, the country’s top miner, sliding 15 per cent. It has surged on talks of a looming battle for control, but slipped back after disappointing results.
Mall-to-banking group SM Investments Corp eased 1.5 per cent. It rose in early trade after it said its net income rose 14 per cent in the nine months to September, driven mainly by its retail and property businesses.
Vietnam’s index was down 0.5 per cent, ending a three-day gain of 4.5 per cent, weighed down by a 2.3 per cent loss in Eximbank and a 1.2 per cent loss in Vinamilk. — Reuters
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