SE Asia Stocks-Rise; Philippines, Indonesia hit record closing highs

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Monday, tracking broader Asian peers, with the Philippine and Indonesian indexes marking record closing highs, as investors saw limited economic fallout from a US government shutdown.

Wall Street stock futures and the dollar pulled back slightly after Senate negotiators failed to reach agreement to restore federal spending authority. The Senate, however, is set to vote on Monday to end the shutdown and allow thousands of federal employees to return to work.

“At the end of the day, I think the US government shutdown is simply an issue that the United States is kicking the can down the road, which means at some point, it is going to be resolved,” said Taye Shim, head of research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas.

“I think it (higher regional equities) is more of a fundamental recovery, so investors are actually looking into the economic growth prospects of the emerging markets.”

Philippine shares ended 0.4 percent higher, led by real estate and financial stocks.

Property to financial services provider SM Investments Corp rose 0.9 percent, while Ayala Corp gained 1.8 percent.

“Overall domestic demand is likely to remain strong in 2018, supported by the government’s infrastructure push. Our current forecast pencil in steady GDP growth of 6.7 percent in 2018/19,” said DBS Group in a note.

The Philippine economy was expected to have ended 2017 on a solid footing with growth in the last quarter gathering momentum from strong domestic demand, robust government spending, and a rebound in farm output.

Indonesia ended higher for a sixth straight session, as energy and utilities gained.

United Tractors Tbk and Adaro Energy Tbk were the biggest contributors to the benchmark’s gain.

“I do not really see any derailment even from a weekly perspective; we are actually very bullish on the Indonesia market,” said Shim of Mirae Asset Sekuritas.

Singapore closed up 0.5 percent, its highest since December 2007.

Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd and Singapore Exchange Ltd rose more than 4.5 percent each.

Vietnam hit its highest since October 2007, with energy company Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp up 7 percent on higher global oil prices.

Source: Brecorder.com