Southeast Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, with Singapore hitting a one-month low, as concerns about the health of the global economy weighed on market sentiment, prompting investors to take profits on recent gains in regional big caps. Singapore's Straits Times Index finished down 2 percent, weighed down by a 4.6 percent drop in commodities firm Noble Group Ltd and a 6.3 percent slide in oil-rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd.
Sembcorp Marine had climbed nearly 35 percent in the three months to Monday's close, while Noble had risen over 13 percent as global investors' appetite for riskier assets revived. Selective buying helped most other markets in the region pare early losses, but brokers said the weakness may continue amid growing concerns about the impact of high oil prices on corporate earnings and consumer confidence.
"What we will probably see in the short term is more volatility in equities markets. On top of the health of global economy, high oil prices have increasingly become a concern," said Kasem Prunratanamala, Head of Research of CIMB Securities (Thailand). The Philippines main index dropped 1.3 percent after climbing earlier in the session to a new all-time high, while Jakarta's Composite Index eased 0.5 percent.
Thailand's SET index was down 0.4 percent, extending Monday's 0.6 percent fall. Malaysian shares ended nearly flat, erasing early losses. The Thai market hovered around its highest levels in almost 16 years last week, boosted by strong foreign inflows and better than expected 2011 earnings.
Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange index fell 2.7 percent. It gained 8.1 percent in past four sessions to the highest in more than five months. "Contrary to what had been widely feared, fiscal year 2011 earnings among the top 50 Thai companies were resilient to the flooding ... few Thai companies have been badly affected," Suchart Techaposai, senior analyst of Citi said in a research note.
Upward revisions on fiscal year 2012 estimates have been in telecoms, food and hospital sectors, he said. But the SET index could fade in the near-term if global liquidity dries up, he said. The Thai stock market will shut on Wednesday for a national holiday, reopening on Thursday.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malayan Banking Bhd edged up 0.2 percent, rebounding from its day's low. In Bangkok, Thanachart Capital Pcl rose 3.5 percent amid earnings optimism while top energy firm PTT Pcl lost 1.4 percent. Among weak spots, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) fell 2.8 percent after the country's most valuable listed company said its fourth-quarter net profit fell 87 percent on slowing mobile phone revenues and higher operating costs.
In Singapore, Sembcorp Marine tumbled after state investor Temasek sold part of its stake in the firm at a discount of 2.75 percent to its last closing price. Fears of similar sales by big investors seeking to cash in on recent gains also weighed on shares in Hong Kong. By 0936 GMT, the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index dropped 1.7 percent while the MSCI index of Southeast Asia, made up of selected stocks, was down 1.3 percent.