SINGAPORE, Jan 24 — Stocks in Indonesia and Singapore fell today as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and the possibility of the US Federal Reserve further trimming its bond buying next week hit sentiment.
However, Thai shares gained after political unrest eased in the capital.
The Jakarta Composite Index lost 1.3 per cent, led by financials and hurt by a weaker rupiah.
The index fell from a near three-month high hit in the previous session, after having gained 1.9 per cent in the four straight sessions until yesterday. The rupiah slid as much as 0.7 per cent in early trade.
Cautious investors are awaiting directions from the Fed, which some market players expect to further trim its bond buying next week even as Chinese manufacturing data pointed to a mild slowdown in the new year.
Singapore eased 0.8 per cent to a near five-week low. The index fell 2.27 per cent on week, its worst weekly performance in the last 22 straight weeks, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp fell 1.8 per cent yesterday, a day after it posted a 26 per cent decline in 2013 net profit.
Singapore shares have been the worst performers this week followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Malaysia ended down 0.3 per cent to a more than five-week low with a foreign outflow of 56.33 million today.
However, Thai shares bucked the trend, rising 0.5 per cent after Bangkok returned to calm after weeks of political unrest, extending the week’s net gain to 1.5 per cent.
Foreign investors sold only US$4.87 million (RM16.3 million) worth Thai share, after buying a net US$56.55 million worth of stocks yesterday. Bangkok suffered a US$221.4 million outflow in seven straight sessions through Wednesday.
The Philippine share index, the best performer for the week, closed up 0.4 per cent, while Vietnam gained 1.2 per cent as foreign investors stepped up buying, boosting some blue chips and propping up the market as domestic traders sold shares ahead of a long holiday. — Reuters
