SINGAPORE, June 15 — Philippine shares rose today, driven by gains in real estate stocks, while
Singapore was headed for a third session of fall in four, dragged down by financials.
Other South-east Asian stock markets traded in a narrow range as soft US economic data and a relatively hawkish Federal Reserve hurt investor sentiment.
The Fed raised interest rates as expected yesterday and gave a first clear outline on its plan to reduce its US$4.2 trillion (RM17.89 trillion) portfolio of bonds.
However, the Fed's decision and confidence in continued US economic growth was over-shadowed by surprisingly weak data released earlier in the day.
US consumer prices unexpectedly fell in May while retail sales recorded their biggest drop in 16 months.
In Asia, China's central bank left interest rates for open market operations unchanged today, shrugging off the Fed rate hike.
In the Philippines, real estate stocks accounted for more than one-third of the gains on the benchmark stock index.
“The Philippine property sector is generally interest rate-sensitive,” said Jeffrey Lucero, an equity research analyst with RCBC Securities.
“Since there were no surprises (in the Fed rate increase), property stocks are rebounding.”
Vietnam shares hit a fresh nine-year high, rising as much as 0.3 per cent, with index heavyweight Vingroup JSC gaining 1.2 per cent.
Malaysian shares touched a two-year high in early trade, gaining as much as 0.2 per cent, with one-third of the gains concentrated in the financial sector.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained 0.7 per cent and Malayan Banking Bhd rose 0.3 per cent.
Singapore shares fell 0.6 per cent with the financial sector accounting for more than half of the losses.
United Overseas Bank Ltd and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd declined 1.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.
Indonesian shares edged down even after data showed exports and imports surged more than expected in May. — Reuters
