Indonesian shares slipped nearly 2 percent on Wednesday as trading resumed after Eid Al-Fitr holidays, while the Thai index recovered from a 9-month low hit in the previous session helped by gains in material and energy stocks.
Indonesian shares posted their lowest close in nearly a month, weighed down by financials, while an index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks slid 2.7 percent. Bank Central Asia Tbk PT closed 3.4 percent lower while Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk PT shed 3.6 percent.
Unilever Indonesia Tbk PT slipped 2.5 percent. The ongoing trade spat between the United States and China has seen investors in the region adopt a "wait-and-see approach", said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific, Oanda in a note. "The spoils of a trade war have attracted bargain-hunting."
Thai shares ended 1.5 percent higher as heavyweights PTT PCl and PTT Exploration and Production PCL gained 2.1 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. The country's central bank on Wednesday left its benchmark one-day repurchase rate unchanged, a quarter-point above the record low as widely expected, and raised its 2018 economic growth forecast.
Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to keep a lid on inflationary pressures and bolster the fragile peso. The Philippine peso slid over 0.3 percent to hover around a 12-year low hit on Monday.
Philippine shares extended losses to a fifth session as JG Summit Holdings Inc and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc shed 4.4 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. The index has lost 15.2 percent so far this year. Vietnam shares closed nearly 2 percent higher following two sessions of losses while Malaysian shares extended losses to an eighth session.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.