Most Southeast Asian stock markets slid on Wednesday as foreigner investors took profits after last week's rally, but Singapore rose to a three-month high on earning hopes. Regional analysts said investors were still awaiting developments on the European debt crisis after governments and private bond holders failing to come to an agreement on a restructuring of Greece's debt on Tuesday.
Indonesia lost 0.8 percent, the Philippines fell 0.9 percent, Thailand closed 0.7 percent weaker, and Malaysia slid 0.2 percent. "There is still a lot of uncertainty about the Greece debt restructuring talks. There is no progress yet," said Teerada Charnyingyong, a strategist with broker Phillip Securities in Bangkok. Jakarta saw foreign outflows of $34.9 million and Kuala Lumpur saw 5.8 billion net foreign selling.
Jakarta and Manila fell due to profit taking on Wednesday led by banks and communication shares respectively, while Bangkok eased on a technical correction after the index neared overbought levels, and as the Bank of Thailand cut the interest rate by 25 basis points as expected.
Singapore, bucking the trend, jumped 1.5 percent to its highest since October 28 as it resumed trading after a long weekend, with upbeat earnings from technology bellwether Apple boosting sentiment. "Apple's earnings has a positive impact on markets today. It's good news as demand for technology products still seem strong, indicating consumer demand is still firm," said Carey Wong, an investment analyst at OCBC Investment Research.
Shares in Singapore rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd ended 3.6 percent firmer after an industry publication quoting Goldman Sachs and Nomura said the rig builder had won an order for a drillship from a Brazilian firm.
Shares of Singapore-listed Chinese firm Ying Li International Real Estate Ltd surged 11.9 percent after a brokerage stoked expectations that China may relax some property curbs, helping in a re-rating of the stock, traders said. Singapore is the region's top performer so far this year with a 9.3 percent gain followed by the Philippines. In Jakarta, analysts were bullish on the outlook of the bourse after the last week's credit upgrade to investment status.
Trade in Indonesian shipping company PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk was suspended on Wednesday in Jakarta and Singapore, pending an announcement on its debt. Thailand's Siam Cement Pcl said on Wednesday it was interested in buying a stake in a cement maker in Vietnam and expected to spend less than 10 billion baht ($315 million) on the acquisition.
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