Southeast Asian stock markets mostly fell in light volumes on Tuesday as energy shares tracked falls in global oil prices, while weaknesses in banking shares amid concerns about loans to an ailing steel firm sent the Thai index to a one-week closing low.
Bangkok's SET index shed nearly 1 percent after four sessions of gains. The index closed at 1,379.32, its lowest closing since September 15.
Shares of Krung Thai Bank Pcl, the most actively traded by turnover, dropped 2.8 percent to a near one-month low, reflecting potential impact of loans to Sahaviriya Steel Industries Pcl on the bank's earnings.
Maybank Kim Eng Securities downgraded Krung Thai Bank to "hold" from "buy".
"Even as exposure to SSI loans will be fully provisioned, KTB's NPL coverage will still be lower than 130 percent, the desired level we think and hence the need for more provisioning in the following quarters," the broker said in a report.
SSI shares plunged 20 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, among its creditors, dropped 1 percent. The steel firm and its three creditors agreed on Monday to consider options to restructure debt worth over 50 billion baht ($1.40 billion).
Stocks in Malaysia extended their slides for a third session, Singapore gave up early gains and Indonesia
hit a near one-week low, all with trading volumes below the 30-day average ahead of a public holiday on Thursday.
Among top losers in the region, Indonesia's Perusahaan Gas Negara was down 4.4 percent and Singapore's Keppel Corp was down 2.5 percent as crude oil prices fell amid uncertainty over global demand.
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