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Monday May 12, 6:38 PMSE Asian Stocks-Plantation firms soar on palmoil pricesSINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets rose on Monday as palm oil prices hit a three-week high and helped push up stocks such as IOI Corp and First Resources .Malaysian crude palm oil futures jumped as much as 3.7 percent, boosted by strong export and demand data. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.57 percent with commodities firm Noble Group rising 6.2 percent. Dealers said the earthquake in China had little impact on stock prices of Chinese companies listed in Singapore [nSP239734]. Malaysian stocks gained 0.61 percent, Indonesian shares climbed 0.13 percent and Philippine stocks rose 0.87 percent. Bucking the trend, Thailand's benchmark index fell 0.53 percent while Vietnam stocks ended 1.66 percent down to a near two-year low. Malaysia's second-largest listed palm planter IOI Corp rose 3.5 percent while Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained nearly 3 percent on buoyant palm oil prices. "While (IOI's) plantation division's robust performance is already expected on the back of high CPO prices, we reckon that the downstream segment could surprise on the upside," AmResearch analyst Gan Huey Ling said in a research note. Singapore-listed First Resources surged almost 8 percent higher as Citigroup said it expects the planter, which announces its results on May 14, to post a strong first-quarter net profit, backed by high palm prices. Record crude palm oil prices also pushed Indonesian-based Golden Agri-Resources up 2.2 percent while Singapore-listed Wilmar International , the world's largest-listed plantation firm, ended 2 percent higher. Indonesia's state-owned gas firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara ended up 2.3 percent, Bank of the Philippine Islands , partly owned by Singapore's DBS Group , closed 4 percent higher, PTT PCL . In Thailand, higher crude prices continued to drag down petrochemical shares, led by a 6.6 percent fall in PTT Aromatics and Refinery , its lowest since it listing in January. (Editing By Ovais Subhani) |
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