SE Asia Stocks-Rise on Wall Street cues; Vietnam outperforms
By Sindhu Chandrasekaran
March 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets rose in
line with Asian peers on Thursday, reversing the previous
session's losses on cues from Wall Street which ended mixed
overnight with an upside bias.
The Nasdaq gained 0.5 percent and the S&P 500
closed 0.2 percent higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial
Average was flat, after all three touched their lowest in
about five weeks earlier in the session.
"Since there is not much actionable news coming from Asia, I
think the markets are just taking cues from U.S. equities which
rebounded last night after a four-day losing streak," said
Victor Felix, an equity analyst with AB Capital Securities.
Meanwhile, the market focus remained on whether U.S.
President Donald Trump can gather enough support at a vote later
in the day to pass a bill to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care
Act, former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare
legislation.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan rose as much as 0.4 percent.
Vietnam shares rose 0.6 percent, outperforming other
markets in the region, helped by gains in consumer staples and
financials.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Co
climbed 6.4 percent, while Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint
Stock Bank (Sacombank) rose 2.3 percent.
Philippine shares climbed 0.4 percent with industrial
stocks accounting for more than half the gains.
The Philippine central bank is unlikely to pull the
rate-hike trigger at its policy meeting due later in the day,
but may signal its readiness to act soon to keep accelerating
inflation in check.
"I think they won't be (increasing the rates)… It is going
to be a non-event and looks like the market has priced this in
already."
Indonesia rose 0.5 percent, led by financials, while
Malaysia and Thailand climbed 0.2 percent each.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AT 0427 GMT
Market Current Previous Pct Move
Close
Singapore 3119.27 3118.19 0.03
Bangkok 1570.04 1566.66 0.22
Manila 7285.14 7254.93 0.42
Jakarta 5562.977 5534.093 0.52
Kuala Lumpur 1751.15 1748.3 0.16
Ho Chi Minh 717.01 712.94 0.57
Change on year
Market Current End 2016 Pct Move
Singapore 3119.27 2880.76 8.28
Bangkok 1570.04 1542.94 1.76
Manila 7285.14 6840.64 6.5
Jakarta 5562.977 5296.711 5.03
Kuala Lumpur 1751.15 1641.73 6.66
Ho Chi Minh 717.01 664.87 7.8
(Reporting by Sindhu Chandrasekaran; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)