BANGKOK, Dec 9 — Thai stocks gave up early gains and fell today as anti-government protesters pressed ahead with mass demonstrations to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her administration, while Malaysia rose to near a record high, backed by strong trade data.

The key SET index had risen 1.2 per cent in early trade after Yingluck called a snap election, but dropped when it became clear that her move had failed to defuse the tensions.

The benchmark was down 0.12 per cent at 1,359.99, with shares of Central Plaza Hotel Pcl losing 2 per cent, among major decliners.

Tourism related stocks such as Airports of Thailand and Thai Airways International trimmed their gains after rallying in early trade amid short covering buys.

Analysts cited profit-taking, saying investors wanted to reduce risks ahead of a market holiday tomorrow.

“We saw a brief positive reaction to the house dissolution news and strong flows of short covering buys in early hours,” said Pichai Lertsupongkij, head of investment advisory services at broker Thanachart Securities.

“Overall, political pressure remains and the protests could continue. I think investors would be more cautious on the outlook of domestic economy and earnings of listed firms,” said Pichai. Support for the main index was seen at 1,345, he said.

Malaysia’s main index rose 0.6 per cent to 1,838.10, hovering near a record high of 1,840.12 hit last week, led by a 2.4 per cent rise in shares of Petronas Chemicals Group, the top percentage gainer on the index.

Malaysia’s exports in October rose by a stronger-than-expected 9.6 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, lifting the index and boosting its gain on the week to almost 1 per cent, the region’s outperformer.

Jakarta’s Composite Index was up 0.3 per cent at 4,195.06, trimming some of the 3.3 per cent drop over the past four sessions.

Jakarta-based Trimegah said a technical indicator signalled a rebound for the day, with the index seen moving in a trading range of 4,158-4,202.

Other markets were mixed, with Singapore stocks trading a tad higher, Vietnam rising 0.5 per cent, partly helped by buying of an exchange-traded fund. Shares in the Philippines eased 0.4 per cent. — Reuters