BANGKOK, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Southeast Asian stock markets
rose on Friday as a larger-than-expected bond buying decision of
the European Central Bank lifted sentiment in risk assets, and
helped Indonesia notch a record high and Singapore a 20-month
peak.
The European Central Bank launched a government bond-buying
programme which will pump hundreds of billions in new money into
a sagging euro zone economy.
Jakarta’s composite index (JCI) was up 1.3 percent at
5,319.53, after hitting an all-time high of 5,324.34.
Foreign investors led buying in large-caps and banks gained
before earnings releases. Astra International rose 3.2
percent to its highest since August, while Bank Central Asia
climbed 1.1 percent to a more than one-month high.
Stronger foreign inflows to the region due to higher
liquidity are expected to be tentative, brokers said.
Bahana Securities maintained its JCI target for 2015 at
5,900.
“This is because the Indonesian market is more USD centric.
Thus far we did not benefit from QE in Japan nor in the euro
zone, as investors would have to convert to USD first, resulting
in currency risks,” said head of research Harry Su.
“Nevertheless, our market should benefit from improved
sentiment.”
Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up 1.1 percent
at 3,409.28. It earlier hit 3,412.08, the highest since May
2013. Shares of DBS Group Holdings and Singapore
Telecommunications were among the actively traded.
The rally helped Indonesia and Singapore to head for a
weekly gain of more than 3 percent, the biggest for both since
March last year.
Malaysia and Thailand are also on course for
a more than 3 percent weekly gain. The Philippines and
Vietnam are also set to extend gains for a fifth straight
week.
Manila-based Regina Capital maintained a year-end target for
the Philippine index at 7,800, citing high valuations. The index
was last trading at 7,506.95, up 1.2 percent.
“The PSEi is not as cheap as it was when the Fed began its
stimulus program. We’ll stick with 7,800 for now, but there’s a
strong chance we may hit that target before the year ends,” said
analyst Jason Bibit.
Asian shares extended a global rally, with MSCI’s broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up
0.9 percent.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0443 GMT
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
Singapore 3409.28 3370.29 +1.16
Kuala Lumpur 1800.18 1781.75 +1.03
Bangkok 1582.73 1560.34 +1.43
Jakarta 5319.53 5253.18 +1.26
Manila 7506.95 7416.31 +1.22
Ho Chi Minh 579.56 574.54 +0.87
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Prateek
Chatterjee)
