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Tuesday May 13, 6:49 PMSE Asian Stocks-Indonesia hits 7-week high, Vietnam fallsSINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian markets mostly rose on Tuesday, lifted by financials and commodities related stocks, such as Southern Steel and Bank Rakyat Indonesia .Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.7 percent, Indonesian gained 1.7 percent to hit a seven-week high and the Philippines rose 1.6 percent to a three-week high. But Vietnam tumbled 1.7 percent, near a two-year low. "It's still too early for fund managers to take positions. In the next six months, Asian markets will be in a consolidation stage -- they will be trying to form a trading basis for recovery," said Gabriel Yap, senior dealing director of DMG Securities. The Malaysian index fell 0.5 percent and Thai stocks slipped 0.4 percent. In Kuala Lumpur, palm oil firms IOI Corp and Sime Darby fell 2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, after palm oil futures eased. Malaysia's Southern Steel surged 17.5 percent and rival steel firm Ann Joo Resources rose 4.6 percent to all-time highs after the government freed up supplies on Monday, which analysts said should benefit steel mills. "This move is conceptually positive for steel millers. In our opinion, the move will help make domestic steel pricing more transparent," DBS Vickers analyst Wong Ming Tek said in a research note. Singapore's Wilmar International , the world's largest-listed palm oil firm, ended 1.2 percent higher after recording a seven-fold jump in quarterly earnings and the firm expects to profit from soaring commodity prices. Gains in Indonesian shares were led by third-largest lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) . Its shares rose 6.7 percent after Morgan Stanley picked the lender as one of its top stock picks. BRI has upside potential far outweighing downside risks at current valuations, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a client note, adding that amongst all the Indonesian banks, BRI sees the most upside potential. PTT Exploration and Production , a unit of Thailand's largest energy firm, led fallers after shedding 3.2 percent while Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp headed gainers after jumping nearly 7 percent despite posting a 53 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings. But analysts said they see Ayala doing better in the second quarter and expect growth of 10-13 percent in Ayala Corp's recurring profits this year. (Editing by Louise Heavens) |
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