Southeast Asian stocks nearly flat in subdued trading


FE Team | Published: May 22, 2018 11:58:15 | Updated: May 24, 2018 11:29:00


SE Asian stocks nearly flat in subdued trading

Most Southeast Asian stock markets were subdued on Tuesday, hurt by a strong dollar that crimped demand for emerging market assets, while Indonesia held firm, gaining over 1.0 per cent.

The dollar hovered near five-month highs against a basket of currencies, boosted by a respite in US-China trade tensions, reports Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose a touch, up 0.1 per cent.

Indonesian shares, however, snapped three sessions of losses to climb over 1 per cent, with financial and consumer stocks leading.

Automotive distributor Astra International gained 4.2 per cent, while Bank Central Asia rose 2.1 per cent.

Indonesia's index of 45 most liquid stocks was up 1.7 per cent.

Singapore shares rose marginally, boosted by industrials. Jardine Matheson Holdings and Keppel Corp were up as much as 3.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

The city-state's annual headline inflation rate likely rose in April from last month, a Reuters poll showed. The data is expected on Wednesday.

Malaysian stocks slipped, with losses in utilities and materials. Electricity distributor Tenaga Nasional shed over 2.0 per cent.

The Philippine index fell marginally, down for a fifth session. Real estate developer Ayala Land was the biggest drag on the index, down as much as 1.1 per cent. 

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