SE Asia Stocks-Most rise as Wall Street gains brew optimism
* Vietnam leads gains
* Indonesia dips on profit-taking in major sectors
By Ambar Warrick
April 24 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose
on Wednesday as a swathe of strong U.S. corporate earnings
perked up risk appetite and spread positive sentiment across
Asia.
Asian stock markets tracked record highs on Wall Street as
fears of a broader slowdown were assuaged by strong corporate
results. Optimism also allowed local markets to shrug off a
spike in oil prices.
"The performance of Wall Street should be a green light for
regional stock markets to track higher this session. Higher oil
prices have, somewhat surprisingly, failed to dampen the
enthusiasm of Asian markets," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market
analyst at OANDA in Singapore.
Vietnam shares were the strongest performers, rising
about 0.7 percent with financials and real estate stocks leading
broad-based gains.
Stronger earnings on Wall Street bode well for Vietnam,
given its position as a manufacturing hub for a number of U.S.
companies, such as Hasbro Inc.
For the day, Tay Ninh Cable Car Tour Co and
Industrial Urban Development JSC were among the biggest
boosts to the benchmark.
Malaysian index rose for a second straight session
after the government's assurance of resilience in the country's
economy. Stocks also saw some bargain buying, with the index
having touched a more than three-year low last week.
Index-heavy lenders Malayan Banking and Public
Bank rose about 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent,
respectively.
On the other hand, Indonesian stocks eased with
consumer staples and telecom stocks seeing some profit-taking
after strong gains on Tuesday. Both sectors had seen heavy
buying in the previous session on the prospect of steady
economic growth in the country and a stable rupiah.
Telekomunikasi Indonesia and Unilever Indonesia
dropped about 1.3 percent and 0.5 percent
respectively, and were among the biggest drags on the local
benchmark.
An index of the index's 45 most liquid stocks fell
about 0.4 percent.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0330 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3356.42 3353.47 0.09
Bangkok 1671.91 1671.31 0.04
Manila 7819.56 7818.93 0.01
Jakarta 6446.528 6462.822 -0.25
Kuala Lumpur 1634.58 1627.44 0.44
Ho Chi Minh 974.27 968 0.65
Change on year
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3356.42 3068.76 9.37
Bangkok 1671.91 1563.88 6.91
Manila 7819.56 7466.02 4.74
Jakarta 6446.528 6194.498 4.07
Kuala Lumpur 1634.58 1690.58 -3.31
Ho Chi Minh 974.27 892.54 9.16
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar
Warrier)
