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Thursday May 22, 6:36 PMSE Asian Stocks-Property stocks fall, resource firms upSINGAPORE, May 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were dragged down by surging oil prices on Thursday, weighing on heavyweights such as Singapore's City Developments , but resource firms such as Indonesia's timber firm PT Barito Pacific rose.Falls in the region mirrored global stocks, after U.S. crude rose over $135 a barrel, sparking concerns that rising costs and a deep economic slowdown could hit corporates. Singapore slid 1.13 percent on property, while Thai stocks closed 1.09 percent lower. Malaysia was 0.28 percent off, and the Philippine index also slipped 1.18 percent. But Indonesia bucked the trend to close 0.37 percent higher, buoyed by resource firm Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper , which soared 30.4 percent. Timber firm PT Barito Pacific Tbk also jumped nearly 20 percent, after it announced plans buy a 76 percent stake in chemical firm PT Tri Polyta Indonesia Tbk on Wednesday. [nJAK36752]. "Indonesia's economy is doing very well because of its resource-based nature and there are parts of the stock market, particularly the resource-based companies that are benefiting," said Nicholas Cashmore, head of research at CLSA Indonesia. "But the bigger global issues, I think, will make it very difficult for the Indonesian market to perform." Telecom companies PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and Indosat also rose 1.2 and 5 percent. Singapore state investor Temasek [TEM.UL] said it would appeal against a Indonesian court decision for it to divest a stake in either Indosat or Telkomsel. In Singapore, property stocks fell on fears of a prolonged downturn in the sector (for an analysis see [nSIN325179]). City Developments fell 2.6 percent, while rival CapitaLand Mall dropped 3.6 percent. Affiliated REIT CapitaMall Trust eased 3.3 percent after it said it will buy office development The Atrium@Orchard for $619 million [nSP156495]. Bucking the trend, offshore oil rig builders Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Corp both rose around 1.5 percent on higher crude prices, but analysts said that may not translate to more rig orders. Vietnamese shares slid a further 1.58 percent to their lowest in 21 months. "Local investors are still adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Many have shifted from the stock market to short-term deposits at banks to enjoy whopping interest rates, but continue to await a stable bounce-back of the market," said Bui Ngoc Long, Marketing Director at International Royal Securities. (Editing by Neil Chatterjee) |
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