Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell in thin volume on Thursday, coming off their day highs as financials shares pulled back from a recent rally. Commodities shares bucked the trend, however, gaining on positive spillover from higher oil prices. Indonesia's main share index finished down 0.3 percent, falling for a second session as banking shares extended losses from Wednesday, led by a 1.6 percent fall in PT Bank Central Asia, the biggest lender by market value.
Malaysia's share index edged down 0.04 percent, coming off an intraday rise to a two-week high. Singapore's Straits Times Index dipped to 0.21 percent while Vietnam dropped 1.3 percent. Against the regional trend, Thailand's SET index gained 0.2 percent by 0928 GMT while the Philippines share index rose for a fifth session, adding 1.3 percent to a one-week high ahead of a four-day break. The Philippines stock market will resume trade on Tuesday while the Indonesian bourse will shut on Friday and reopen on Monday.
Manila-based Jose Vistan, analyst at AB Capital Securities, attributed the local market rise to demand from institutional investors. "It's a combination of window-dressing activities and optimism regarding the global economy. Sentiment is a bit cautious. The market's been up almost 40 percent this year and there's a lot of room for profit taking, potentially," he said. The Philippines stock market is Southeast Asia's second best performer so far in December, gaining 4.1 percent behind the leader, Vietnam, which has risen 5.7 percent this month.
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