ASEAN STOCK MARKET: Thai, Singapore stocks lead Southeast Asian peers

Most Southeast Asian stocks rose on Wednesday tracking strong broader Asia, with Thai and Singapore shares leading the markets.

Asian shares ex-Japan rose for a second straight session boosted by an upbeat Wall Street  overnight and on hopes that Chinese government spending would spur growth.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index rose 15.86 points or 0.95% to end the day at 1,690.08, in turnover worth 57.54 billion baht, with all sectors ending in the positive zone.

Energy and consumer staples were the top gainers on the benchmark, with top contributor PTT Plc rising on higher oil prices.

Singapore shares extended their upward run into a second session and ended 1% higher led by blue chips Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, United Overseas Bank and DBS Group Holdings.

The Philippine index gained 0.9% and marked its highest close in over a month after the International Monetary Fund said the country is likely to sustain economic growth at 6.7% this year and in 2019, pushed by strong consumption and investment.

Financial shares accounted for more than half of the gains on the index, with Metro Pacific Investments Corp and BDO Unibank each rising by over 4% ahead of earnings.

“Expectations for the banking sector will be stronger in the second quarter following the recent 50 basis points rate hike of the Philippine Central Bank,” said Maybank Kim Eng analyst Katherine Tan.

Indonesian shares ended marginally higher, with gains in energy outweighing losses in telecommunication stocks.

Astra International Tbk PT and United Tractors TBK PT rose 3.4% and 5.1% respectively, and were among the biggest contributors to the benchmark.

Vietnam shares fell 0.7%.

25 Jul 2018 at 19:58 / WRITER: BANGKOK POST AND REUTERS