BANGKOK, April 16 — Southeast Asian stock markets mostly edged higher today after China reported economic growth a touch above forecast while Malaysian shares reversed early gains ahead of March inflation data.
Malaysia’s main index fell 0.2 per cent at midday amid selling in recent gainers such as Tenaga Nasional and Telekom Malaysia.
Malaysia’s annual inflation rate in March is expected to hold steady against the previous month, when consumer prices climbed to a 32-month high, reflecting the higher costs of food, transportation and electricity.
In Bangkok, the SET index rose 0.5 per cent to around a one-week high as investors selectively bought shares of banking companies that are due to report their January-March earnings from this week. The banking subindex was up 0.7 per cent.
Among the top market boosters, shares of Kasikornbank gained 1.1 per cent, with 25 out of 26 analysts rating the stock a “buy” or “strong buy”, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Technically, the index could be capped around 1,400 amid domestic political concerns, strategists at broker Phillip Securities said.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index touched its highest since September, Indonesia eked out small gains, while the Philippine main index hovered around the highest since August ahead of a four-day holiday starting tomorrow. Sentiment in Asia was broadly positive as MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2 per cent. — Reuters
