Southeast Asian stock markets pushed higher on Thursday amid a broad rebound in risky assets helped by the Greek parliament's initial vote for an austerity package to tackle debt problems, spurring demand for big-caps at the end of the quarter. Foreign money flowed into the region, sending stocks in Indonesia and Malaysia to all-time highs, with shares elsewhere making strong gains.
Half-year window-dressing particularly helped lift blue chips and boosted turnover in several markets, including Singapore, which saw volume rising to 1.7 times the 30-day average. However, some brokers in the region expect gains to be short-lived due to the prospect of a global economic slowdown in the second half, especially if debt problems spread to other European countries.
"The market is getting a brief breather from the ongoing euro zone debt crisis thanks to the latest Greek austerity plan approval but investors are not banking on a final resolution of the debt crisis," said Singapore-based Najeeb Jarhom at broker AmFraser Secuties.
The MSCI index of Southeast Asia climbed 1.6 percent by 0941 GMT, in line with a 1.64 percent rise in the MSCI index of Asia outside Japan. World stocks and the euro hit three-week highs after the Greek developments. Singapore's blue chips posted strong gains on the day, including a 1.8 percent rise in top lender DBS Group Holding and a 2.3 percent climb in Singapore Telecommunications, the city state's top telecom firm.
Among regional bright spots, Indonesia's biggest firm by market value and main vehicle distributor, Astra International, hit a record high on Thursday, surging 3.3 percent. Thailand's Kasikornbank rose 2.5 percent. Net foreign inflows to Indonesia were the biggest in more than two weeks at $119 million, and the Philippines saw $31 million in inflows, a one-month high, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Foreign investors bought $69 million of Thai stocks on Thursday ahead of a three-day weekend and a general election on Sunday. They bought $71 million on Wednesday after the $320 million in outflows seen over the previous five sessions and $1.44 billion in outflows since the start of May, reflecting risk aversion ahead of the election. For the April-June quarter, Philippine shares posted the biggest quarterly gains in Asia with 5.8 percent, ahead of 5.7 percent for Indonesia.
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