SE Asia Stocks: Philippines Up for Fourth Session, Indonesia Slips
Philippine shares rose for a fourth session on Friday (03/11), buoyed by expectations of greater investments into the market and prospects of better-than-expected corporate earnings.
Japan earlier this week said it would help the Philippines rebuild conflict-torn southern Marawi and also invest in other projects, including a possible 600 billion yen loan to develop a subway in Manila.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made these pledges in a joint statement with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte following talks in Tokyo.
"The positive outlook from the President's visit prompted expectations of more investments to come in. Additionally, third-quarter earnings will likely be above expectations," said Oliver Plana, head of sales at Asiasec Equities.
Index heavyweights Ayala Land and Globe Telecom are scheduled to report earnings this month.
Industrial and real estate stocks led the gains, with SM Investments surging to a record high.
Most other markets were range-bound as investors gave a guarded reception to Republican plans for massive US tax cuts while welcoming the appointment of Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.15 percent, just shy of its highest level since late 2007.
Vietnam gained 0.6 percent, buoyed by industrials and utilities.
Vietnamese builder FLC Faros Construction, which hit an all-time high in the previous session, rose 7 percent.
Malaysian shares rose marginally, with lender CIMB Group up nearly 1 percent.
The country's September exports climbed 14.8 percent from a year earlier, slowing for the second month in a row.
Indonesia, which hit an all-time high on Thursday, was among the biggest decliners, down 0.7 percent, dragged by financials and consumer discretionary stocks.
The index is, however, headed for its fifth weekly gain.
Top lender Bank Central Asia shed 3.5 percent while Astra International fell 1.5 percent.
Singapore was also in the red, despite a rise in factory output for the twelfth straight month in October to its highest in nearly eight years.
The index is headed for its first weekly fall in five.
United Overseas Bank was down 0.6 percent after reporting its third-quarter results.
Reuters
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