SE Asia Stocks -Most up; Thai index hits two-week high
Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Thai index rose to a two-week high on
Wednesday while most other Southeast Asian markets were slightly
firmer as cautious investors awaited cues on the global economy.
Thailand's main stock index jumped 1.3 percent to
its highest intra-day level since July 19.
Stockbrokers and strategists attributed the strong gain to
hopes of better earnings and as the market had resumed after two
days of holidays since closing on Friday.
Other markets were mostly sluggish as cautious investors
stayed on the sidelines on worries over global growth and as the
crisis in Ukraine threatened a fragile economic recovery in
Europe.
Weak loan data on Chinese banks also added to worries over
the global economy as markets braced for more Chinese economic
reports later in the day, including industrial production and
retail sales for July.
The Malaysian index was up 0.2 percent at 0637 GMT,
while Philippines traded 0.1 percent firmer after
recovering from early losses.
The Jakarta Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent
with the market expecting the index to fall on an expected
worsening of the current account deficit in the second quarter
and talks over cutting the fuel subsidy.
On Friday, Bank Indonesia is expected to announce that the
country's current account deficit in April-June roughly doubled
from the first quarter, but the central bank is not seen
tightening policy any time soon.
Bucking the trend Singapore was down 0.2 percent, a
day after the city-state's economic data pointed that weakness
in the services sector is set to weigh on growth in the second
half of the year.
Vietnam's benchmark VN Index was down 0.1 percent.
For Asian companies click;
For South East Asia Hot Stock reports, click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0633 GMT
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 440.89 438.51 +0.54
Singapore 3296.98 3303.39 -0.19
Kuala Lumpur 1853.34 1850.39 +0.16
Bangkok 1539.74 1520.31 +1.28
Jakarta 5142.43 5132.40 +0.20
Manila 6991.36 6983.49 +0.11
Ho Chi Minh 601.27 601.78 -0.08
* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Reporting by Shihar Aneez in New Delhi; Editing by Sunil Nair)