BENGALURU: Thailand’s benchmark hit a 14-month high on Tuesday as the prospect of political stability after elections lifted sentiment, while Indonesian stocks advanced for the second consecutive session.
Thailand’s SET Index climbed for a third consecutive session, rising as much as 1 percent to its strongest level since mid-December 2024.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party clinched a stronger-than-expected general election victory on Sunday, cementing hopes of political stability and economic reforms.
DBS analysts noted that foreign portfolio inflows into Thailand have been supportive so far this year and are likely to continue, at least in the near term.
Net foreign inflows have reached 31.42 billion baht (USD1 billion) so far this year as of February 9, with international investors posting net buying of 16.54 billion baht of shares on Monday alone, according to SET data. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index added 1.2 percent as investors weighed FTSE Russell’s decision to postpone a scheduled review for Indonesia.
The index provider flagged concerns similar to those raised by MSCI about how difficult it is to determine the levels of free-floating, or freely tradable, stock. Last month, MSCI had warned of a potential downgrade to frontier-market status, citing transparency concerns, while Moody’s lowered the country’s credit rating outlook last week.
In Singapore, shares were flat despite the trade ministry raising the country’s growth forecast for this year to a range of 2 percent to 4 percent after a stronger-than-expected finish to 2025.
Elsewhere, a 3 percent rise in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company propelled the broader benchmark 1.7 percent higher.
A media report suggested that the US plans to exclude big techs such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft from the upcoming tariffs on chips.
South Korean stocks rose 0.5 percent, keeping their crown as the region’s stand-out, with a 26.3 percent gain so far this year. Trailing behind, Taiwan and Thailand shares were up 13.7 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, year-to-date.
Emerging market stocks and bonds are off to a strong start to the year following a stellar 2025, analysts at BlackRock Investment Institute wrote.
“We expect both EM stocks and bonds to be supported by resilient - if steady - global economic growth and a stable to softer US dollar.”
The dollar index was slightly lower on the day, having lost more than 1 percent over the last three sessions.
However, currencies in Asia were largely subdued, with the Malaysian ringgit up 0.3 percent, the region’s biggest gainer.
The Singapore dollar, South Korean won and the Philippine peso were largely unchanged.
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