South East Asia Stocks- Mufti-week lows as US budget worries return
Major Southeast Asian stock markets fell more than 1 percent on Monday as uncertainty over debt problems in Europe and U.S. budget woes prompted investors to cut exposure to riskier assets.
Major Southeast Asian stock markets fell more than 1 percent on Monday as uncertainty over debt problems in Europe and U.S. budget woes prompted investors to cut exposure to riskier assets.
Late selling sent stocks in Singapore and Malaysia tune-month lows and others hit mulch-week lows. Trading remained light.
Singapore's Straits Times Index closed down 1.2 percent, while Kuala Lumpur's Composite Index ended 1.4
percent lower at its day's low.
Jakarta's Composite Index and the Thai SET index dropped nearly 2 percent. Sentiment across the region worsened amid concerns that U.S. lawmakers may fail to come to an agreement on plans to reduce the country's budget deficit.
"The U.S. issue added to noises that this region is experiencing from abroad," said Kasem Prunratanamala, head of research at CIMB Securities (Thailand).
Southeast Asian stocks suffered a spurt of selling this month, led by losses in Singapore stocks of more than 5 percent in November to date, after a short-covering rebound in October.
Indonesia posted $60 million in foreign outflows on Monday, ahead of Thailand's 1.6 billion baht ($52 million) and Malaysia's 121 million ringgit ($38.3 million), Thomson Reuters and stock exchange data showed.
Southeast Asia has felt the pinch of the weakness in the western economies.
In Bangkok, economists said external factors, including the debt problems from Europe, were key risks to Thailand's economic recovery from flooding next year.
Thailand's national planning agency (NESDB) slashed its forecast for 2011 GDP growth to 1.5 percent after a
weaker-than-expected third quarter. It projected 4.5-5.5 percent growth for 2012 GDP, helped by consumption and investment after the flooding.
Asian shares elsewhere fell on Monday as uncertainty remained over how euro zone leaders would respond to mounting funding difficulties for European banks, plus the U.S. deficit impasse.
A U.S. congressional "super committee" is expected to formally announce on Monday that its three-month-long effort to forge a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan has failed, aides told Reuters.
By 0940 GMT, MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan had fallen 1.9 percent. Commodities-related stocks led losers following a drop in U.S. crude and weaker Malaysian palm oil.
Thai petrochemical firm PTT Global Chemical Pcl fell 3.8 percent and commodities firm Noble Group Ltd slumped 4.9 percent.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on day
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
Singapore 2697.98 2730.34 -1.19
Kuala Lumpur 1434.08 1454.40 -1.40
Bangkok 965.07 984.16 -1.94
Jakarta 3679.83 3754.50 -1.99
Manila 4299.47 4302.43 -0.07
Hanoi 379.14 379.62 -0.13
Change on year
Market Current End prev yr Pct Move
Singapore 2697.98 3190.04 -15.42
Kuala Lumpur 1434.08 1518.91 -5.58
Bangkok 965.07 1032.76 -6.55
Jakarta 3679.83 3703.51 -0.64
Manila 4299.47 4201.14 +2.34
Hanoi 379.14 484.66 -21.77
Stock Market Volume (shares)
Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days
Singapore 354,080,700 377,045,750
Kuala Lumpur 110,151,500 104,058,207
Bangkok 2,870,734 3,331,117
Jakarta 2,689,799,000 3,930,976,233
Manila 555,354 314,808
Hanoi 21,207 29,992
