SE Asia Stocks -Most range-bound; Thai shares near 8-week lows

BANGKOK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Thai shares extended their losses

for a second day on Tuesday, led lower by large caps such as PTT

and Siam Cement, while Bumi Resources

shares underperformed in Indonesia after the company

cut the size of its rights issue.

Bangkok's SET index was down 0.01 percent at midday

after moving back and forth in early trading which saw it slip

to 1,534.42, the lowest since Aug. 13.

Some technical-led buying lifted the index earlier in the

day after it dropped 1.7 percent on Monday, its biggest daily

fall since Jan. 28, after the royal palace said Thailand's King

Bhumibol Adulyadej had undergone surgery to remove his gall

bladder.

The health of King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning

monarch, has improved after the successful operation, the Nation

newspaper reported, citing the latest statement from the Royal

Household Bureau.

Domestic institutions sold Thai shares worth a net 3 billion

baht ($92.08 million) on Monday, overshadowing buying by foreign

and retail investors.

"We expect the SET to rebound modestly, but volatility may

remain high. External factors are still neutral," broker KGI

Securities said in a report.

Among the bright spots, shares of Kasikornbank

jumped 2.3 percent after a 3.9 percent fall in the previous

session sent the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) to

36, near the oversold territory of 30 or below.

In Jakarta, foreign-led buying lifted shares of Astra

International and Telkom Indonesia, bringing

the key share index 0.3 percent higher.

Shares of Bumi Resources fell more than 7 percent on

resuming trade after a near two-week long trading suspension was

lifted. The company said on Monday it slashed its rights issue

by about half to 3.96 trillion rupiah ($324.9 million) due to

tepid demand.

Other markets in Southeast Asia were range-bound while Asian

shares inched tentatively higher as the focus turned to an

imminent policy decision from the Bank of Japan.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0542 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 3242.92 3253.24 -0.32

Kuala Lumpur 1846.35 1840.82 +0.30

Bangkok 1542.90 1543.13 -0.01

Jakarta 5016.35 5000.14 +0.32

Manila 7232.98 7247.03 -0.19

Ho Chi Minh 616.32 614.42 +0.31

(1 US dollar = 32.5800 baht)

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)