Indonesian shares closed at a record high on Thursday, bouncing back from a drop in the previous session, after Fitch raised the country's credit ratings to their second lowest investment grade. Fitch upgraded Indonesia's credit ratings to 'BBB', with its outlook as stable, saying economic and monetary policies have made Southeast Asia's largest economy resilient to external shocks.
"Fitch's upgrade may now raise expectations of an upgrade by Moody's next year, given that Moody's has already put Indonesia's rating on a positive outlook in early-2017," Gundy Cahyadi, an economist with DBS Group Research, said in a note. The Jakarta SE Composite Index closed 1.2 percent higher, rising for a seventh session in eight, while an index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks climbed 1.7 percent.
Financial and consumer staple stocks led the gains, with Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk PT and Unilever Indonesia Tbk PT rising 3.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Philippine shares erased earlier losses to close 0.2 percent higher, aided by gains in industrials.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc rose 3.1 percent, while PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc declined as news of a third telecom provider to challenge the existing duopoly gains steam. Thai shares closed slightly lower, after gaining as much as 0.2 percent on upbeat customs-cleared annual exports.
Exports, a key driver of Thailand's growth, increased 13.4 percent in November from a year earlier, surpassing a Reuters median forecast of a 6.4 percent rise. Singaporean shares dropped for a sixth session, dragged by financial and real estate stocks. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp declined 0.8 percent, while CapitaLand Commercial Trust fell over 3 percent.
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