BANGKOK, Aug 26 — Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed today, with Singapore retreating after the city-state called early polls but select stocks in Thailand and Indonesia outperformed after share buyback schemes.
Singapore's Straits Times Index slipped 0.3 per cent, giving up the rebound on the day before. Investors quickly cashed in recent gainers such as DBS Group Holdings which fell one per cent after yesterday's 1.4 per cent rise.
“Investors in Singapore will also be a little distracted by the confirmation of Polling Day on Sept 11 and the speed at which more new candidates will be announced,” broker NRA Capital said in a report.
Singapore said yesterday it will hold a general election on Sept 11, more than a year before a deadline for the next polls, seen riding the feel-good factor of the city-state's 50th birthday amid slowing economic growth.
Thai SET index was up 0.3 per cent, led by a 6.9 per cent rally in shares of Charoen Pokphand Foods, which announced a share buyback plan.
Shares of PTT Global Chemical added 0.5 per cent after a 9.7 per cent surge yesterday following a share repurchase programme.
Investors were still reluctant to build positions in risk assets due to global instability, brokers said.
“Continuing concerns about global economic slowdown and a mixed view on the US FOMC interest rate decision still imply further foreign outflows, capping the SET upside in the near-term,” said strategists at broker KGI Securities.
Jakarta composite index was down 0.4 per cent. Shares of Semen Indonesia and Bank Mandiri, which were among state-controlled firms rallying on Tuesday on share buyback activities, rose 6.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.
Indexes in Malaysia and Vietnam both extended the rebound yesterday. The Philippines reversed its early gains and traded a tad down 0.1 per cent.
Asian shares struggled today as investors feared fresh rate cuts in China would not be enough to stabilise its slowing economy or halt a stock collapse that is wreaking havoc in global markets. — Reuters
