SE Asia Stocks: S’pore, Thailand up in dividend season; banks drag Vietnam
BANGKOK, Aug 21 – Stocks in Singapore and Thailand edged up in light volume today, led by large caps such as Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and Krung Thai Bank Pcl, as investors looked for dividend-yielding stocks.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index ended up 0.12 per cent on resuming trade after a market holiday. Singapore Telecommunications rose 1.8 per cent. Thai SET index extended its gains for a second day to end 0.27 per cent higher.
Thailand’s second-biggest lender Krung Thai Bank advanced 3 per cent. The bank has announced an interim dividend of 0.36 baht and the stock will trade ex-dividend on August 28.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange’s VN Index dropped 4.67 per cent, halting a six-day rising streak. Asia Commercial Bank plunged 7 per cent after news reports that its founder was taken into custody for wrongdoings in business.
The news dampened sentiment in other Vietnamese banking stocks, which mostly ended the day lower. – Reuters
