BANGKOK, Dec 13 — Thai stocks ended at a 14-week low today as the domestic political deadlock spurred fund outflows while Indonesian shares faltered due to weakness in the rupiah and on worries over US stimulus tapering.
The Thai SET index was down 1.1 per cent at 1,341.13, the lowest close since September 6, with selling most active in large-caps and telecoms shares, such as Advanced Info Service and PTT.
The benchmark dropped 1.5 per cent on the week, with a year-to-date loss of 3.7 per cent, making it Asia’s second worst performer.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 3.5 billion baht (RM350 million) today, taking their redemptions since November to around US$2.5 billion and nearly US$6 billion so far this year, much larger than in many neighbouring markets.
The leader of a protest group trying to overthrow Thailand’s government and scrap planned elections said today the prime minister should either step down or be forced out, and his movement would then need around a year to push through reforms.
Indonesia’s index was down 0.9 per cent at 4,174.83, the lowest close since September 6, with foreign investors selling a net 341.2 billion rupiah worth of shares, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Domestic buyers helped many markets regain lost ground, including the Philippines and Malaysia, while redemptions by foreign investors continued ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on December 17-18.
The Philippine index ended up a tad higher at 0.08 per cent after an earlier loss of nearly 1 per cent. Shares of Jollibee Foods Corp jumped 3.1 per cent, reversing yesterday’s falls and leading gains on the index of 30 large-cap stocks.
The benchmark underperformed its peers on the week, down 4.1 per cent, falling for a second week. Foreign investors sold a net US$34.6 million today and a combined selling of US$47.2 million on the week, stock exchange data showed.
Malaysia’s index edged up 0.4 per cent at 1,840.35, recouping some of the losses over the past two sessions and near a record close of 1,842.82 hit early in the week. It rose for a fourth week, up 0.7 per cent, making it the region’s best performer during the week.
The Malaysian bourse said local institution bought a net RM115.6 million while foreign investors sold a net RM116.7 million. — Reuters
