Thai shares touched near eight-month highs on Monday as strong crude prices boosted stocks of energy explorer PTT Exploration and Production , while Indonesian shares fell to their lowest in one week due to foreign-led selling in large caps. Bangkok's SET index closed up 1.09 percent at 1,471.85, the highest since October 18. PTT Exploration shares jumped 4.1 percent, their best gain since December and its parent firm PTT was up 2.1 percent.
"The market today was about rotational plays, mainly into energy sector. PTTEP was strong because it is one of the best direct play into the strong crude oil market," said Pichai Lertsupongkij, a senior analyst of Thanachart Securities. Jakarta's composite index was down 0.8 percent at 4,885.46, the lowest close since June 9.
Shares of top four firms by market value dropped after foreign-led selling, including Astra International, Bank Central Asia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Telkom Indonesia, according to Thomson Reuters data. In Manila, large cap telecommunications shares fell due to outflows, stock exchange data showed. Shares of Alliance Global dropped 2.1 percent after a net foreign selling of 247 million peso ($5.6 million) and Philippine Long Distance Telephone eased 0.6 percent as foreign investors sold a net 148 million peso ($3.4 million). Other markets were little changed in line with Asian stock markets amid concerns about the insurgency in Iraq.

Copyright Reuters, 2014

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