Southeast Asian stocks mostly up

Southeast Asian stock markets mostly gained on Thursday as foreign investors again put money into the region although volume on the whole was low. Commodity and energy shares were in particular demand. Indonesia ended 0.4 percent higher, below the 1.4 percent seen in the early trade, led by shares in the consumer goods sector, and foreign investors bought a net $80.2 million of stock after $176.4 million in the previous three sessions, Reuters data showed.
Nomura Asia Research added in a report that Indonesia should benefit from strong commodity prices, being a net exporter of both soft commodities and energy. The Philippines outperformed with a 1.5 percent rise, erasing some of the 5 percent it had lost so far this year, with $24.7 million in foreign money flowing in. "Foreign investors are interested in energy and utility sectors," said Ron Rodrigo, head of research at DBP-Daiwa in Manila.
Thailand gained 0.9 percent to its highest close since January 21, with $41 million in inflows, giving a total of $73.8 million over the past three days. Thursday's gain was led by energy shares, with a 2 percent rise in top energy firm PTT, which has by far the heaviest weight in the benchmark index. According to ThomsonReuters StarMine, earnings forecasts for 2011 in the energy sector in Asia have gone up 2 percent over the past 30 days, the sharpest increase of 10 sectors.
Thailand's top agribusiness firm, Charoen Pokphand Foods, jumped 5.1 percent, a day after it said it expected food and agro-industrial businesses in Cambodia, Russia and Malaysia to boost its revenue from overseas markets to 40 percent over the next five years. Malaysia gained 0.5 percent, with Petronas Chemicals Group gaining 2.7 percent, and Vietnam rose 0.3 percent. Singapore closed flat.
Some regional analysts say foreigners may increase their buying in the region as the valuations are becoming attractive again after the recent fall. Singapore is trading at 13.9 times this year's projected earnings, the highest in the region and compared to all-Asia's 12.9. Thailand is trading at 11.4, lower than the 13.7 of Malaysia and Indonesia and 12.4 of the Philippines, Thomson Reuters StarMine data shows.