By Aparajita Saxena
Jan 26 (Reuters) – Southeast Asian stock markets advanced on
Thursday, in line with global equities, following a
record-breaking performance from Wall Street overnight.
U.S. stock markets climbed on Wednesday and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average blew past the psychological 20,000
level, supported by President Donald Trump’s pro-growth
initiatives that reignited a post-election rally, and strong
fourth-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite
indexes also closed at record highs for a second consecutive
session.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
rose as much as 0.8 percent, their highest in
three months.
Wall Street performance has improved investor sentiment and
risk appetite for Asian equities, said Mikey Macanaig, an
analyst with Sunsecurities Inc. Markets are seeing money come
back to emerging equities, with the Asian market performance in
tandem with U.S. markets, Macanaig added.
Thai shares outperformed regional peers, jumping as
much as 1 percent to a 23-month high.
Gains were supported by energy stocks as oil prices rose on
Thursday on a weaker dollar.
Singapore gained 0.4 percent, led by financial and
telecom services stocks.
The city-state’s industrial production in December is
expected to have continued to rise on an annual basis, a Reuters
poll showed.
DBS Group Holdings was the top performer on the
index, along with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp,
followed by Southeast Asia’s largest telecom company, Singapore
Telecommunications.
Philippines rose 0.4 percent, snapping two sessions
of losses, after government data showed the Philippine economy
grew faster than expected at the end of last year.
Gross domestic product rose 1.7 percent in the fourth
quarter, picking up from an upwardly revised 1.5 percent growth
in the third quarter and stronger than the 1.6 percent forecast
in a Reuters’ poll.
The stronger-than-expected growth data bolsters expectations
that the central bank will tighten its monetary policy this
year, the Bank of the Philippine Islands said in a note.
BDO Unibank Inc led gains in the financial sector,
and was the top performer on the index.
Malaysia and Indonesia gained 0.3 percent.
Vietnam’s financial markets are closed from Jan. 26
to Feb. 1 for a national holiday.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS; Change at 0357 GMT
Market Current Previous Pct Move
Close
Singapore 3053.01 3039.94 0.43
Bangkok 1595.89 1584.29 0.73
Manila 7351.79 7323.36 0.39
Jakarta 5311.935 5293.782 0.34
Kuala Lumpur 1688.79 1683.93 0.29
Change this year
Market Current End 2016 Pct Move
Singapore 3053.01 2880.76 5.98
Bangkok 1595.89 1542.94 3.43
Manila 7351.79 6840.64 7.47
Jakarta 5311.935 5296.711 0.29
Kuala Lumpur 1688.79 1641.73 2.87
(Reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha
Gayathri)
