(Nov 13): Most Southeast Asian stocks were range-bound on Thursday as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of Chinese economic data, but Singapore outperformed the region led by financials.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.8 percent by 0616 GMT led by a 1.5 percent gain each in United Overseas Bank Ltd and DBS Group Holdings Ltd, which had lost 4.72 percent and 0.9 percent respectively in the previous session.
"With signs of increasing concern over the strength of the European economic recovery, investors could be looking to sell into strength while those who have been sidelined for a while will be looking to accumulate only at lower levels,"
Singapore-based Net Research Asia said in an investor note.
Analysts said many investors were waiting for cues from Chinese economic data, expected later in the day.
China's industrial output, investment and retail sales data are expected to show a cooling in the world's second largest economy, with fixed-asset investment, an important driver of growth, seen growing at its slowest pace in nearly 13 years between January and October.
Malaysia's stock index was up 0.1 percent, while Vietnam was 0.03 percent weaker and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.3 percent by midday as uncertainty over a fuel price hike weighed on sentiment.
Philippine shares were down 0.2 percent, while shares in Thailand traded steady.
Teerada Charnyingyong, a strategist at broker Phillip Securities, said there was no market-moving news to boost sentiment for Thai stocks.
Charnyingyong said regulators were considering some curbs on overheated stocks by framing some new rules by next Wednesday.
"May be there could be more monitoring and control of the stocks with high P/E ratio," she said. – Reuters
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