By Arada Kultawanich
BANGKOK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets rose
on Wednesday, recovering from losses the previous session, with
banks and palm oil stocks leading gains in Malaysia, pushing the
market to its highest in a week.
Overall trading was light as investors remained cautious
before a U.S. Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the
economy later on Wednesday.
"However, some investors are daring to snap up stocks to bet
the Fed will keep its rate unchanged ... and that helped trigger
a rebound in Asian markets broadly," said Rakpong Chaisuparakul,
an analyst at KGI Securities in Bangkok.
The Fed is expected to reaffirm at the end of its two-day
meeting that policies to support the economy will stay in place
for some time, despite mounting signs of recovery.
Malaysia's index ended up 0.93 percent, Singapore's
index, after falling two days in a row, bounced back
1.03 percent, Thai stocks climbed 2.68 percent and
Indonesia edged up 1.62 percent.
But the Philippine market closed flat and Vietnam ended down 0.39 percent at its lowest close since Sept. 9.
At 0915 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.49 percent
and the MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.73 percent.
Gains in Malaysia were driven by top palm planter Sime Darby , the largest stock on the bourse by market value, which
rose 0.7 percent to a one-week high after an upbeat price
forecast by industry analyst Oil World.
Malaysian banks rose on hopes that earnings will get a boost
next year when the economy recovers, with top lender Maybank up 1.5 percent, number two CIMB adding 0.64
percent and third-ranked Public Bank up 0.93 percent.
Similarly in Singapore, United Overseas Bank rose
1.5 percent, number two Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
gained 1.7 percent and DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest
lender, added 0.62 percent.
In Bangkok, heavyweight energy stocks recovered, with shares
in PTT Exploration and Production adding 3.5 percent to 134.50
baht, rebounding from a four-month low of 128 baht on Tuesday
after the firm said it had plugged an oil well in the Timor Sea
that had leaked for over two months.
Top energy firm PTT, the parent of PTTEP, ended up
3.51 percent after hitting a four-month low on Tuesday.
In Indonesia, shares in miner PT Aneka Tambang
jumped as much as 9 percent on media reports it may head a
consortium to buy some of Newmont Mining Corp's shares in
its Indonesian venture.
($1=33.42 Baht)
(Editing by Alan Raybould)
((arada.kultawanich@thomsonreuters.com; +662 648 9732, Reuters
Messaging: arada.kultawanich.reuters.com@reuters.net))
FACTORS TO WATCH: Indonesia holds rates steady, vows to curb inflation Thai police make third arrest in stock rumour probe Thailand's 2009 rubber exports may drop 3 pct - govt Manila c.bank to flag rising risks to inflation view Singapore Exchange to launch fuel oil futures in Jan Chartered's shareholders approve Abu Dhabi takeover DME seeks more oil producers to beef up liquidity Philippines says may breach 2009 budget gap goal Vietnam developer Vincom to sell $150 mln intl bond For South East Asia Hot Stock reports, click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on the day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move Singapore 2648.64 2621.55 +1.03 Kuala Lumpur 1253.84 1242.32 +0.93 Bangkok 686.41 668.48 +2.68 Jakarta 2371.86 2334.11 +1.62 Manila 2907.63 2908.24 -0.02 Ho Chi Minh 537.53 539.65 -0.39 Change on year Market Current End prev yr Pct Move Singapore 2648.64 1761.56 +50.36 Kuala Lumpur 1253.84 876.75 +43.01 Bangkok 686.41 449.96 +52.55 Jakarta 2371.86 1355.40 +74.99 Manila 2907.63 1872.85 +55.25 Ho Chi Minh 537.53 315.62 +70.31 Stock Market Volume (shares) Market Current Volume Average Volume 90 days Singapore 242,074,300 366,969,817 Kuala Lumpur 72,990,800 123,506,899 Bangkok 3,287,347 4,583,129 Jakarta 4,084,743,500 5,437,644,872 Ho Chi Minh 60,281 60,155 ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea... S.E. Asia....... Hong Kong... Taiwan.... Australia/NZ.... India....... China..... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street.... Gold ....... Currency.. Eurostocks..... Oil ........ JP bonds... ADR Report ..... LME metals. US bonds.. Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Singapore diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Banking news Tech,Media,Telecoms Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt (Local currency) LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS SOUTHEASTASIA STOCKS/
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