Thailand falls on energy slump, Singapore recovers

BENGALURU (Oct 24): Thai shares fell nearly 1% on Wednesday as the country’s energy sector came under pressure after oil prices slumped overnight, while shares in Singapore pulled back from the previous day’s losses.

Thai stocks were down 0.9%, having resumed trading after a local holiday, with PTT Public Company Ltd falling 2%, while PTT Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd shed 2.5%.

Crude prices hurtled to two-month lows on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia said it could supply more crude quickly if needed to meet possible shortfalls ahead of US sanctions on Iran.

Meanwhile, mounting diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death and worries about US corporate earnings weighed on sentiment.

Asian markets were largely subdued, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asian shares ex-Japan falling 0.2%, extending the previous session’s losses.

Philippine stocks slipped 0.4% led by financial and real-estate shares, with conglomerate Ayala Corp losing 0.4%.

“Markets had been up for five sessions, and we saw profit-taking eating into the market yesterday. Now we’re seeing some follow through selling from the continued weakness in Wall Street,” said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc.

“If you look at what happened yesterday, Philippine’s losses were meagre compared to losses in other Asian markets… some of them are recovering but now Philippines continues to suffer from selling pressure,” he added.

Vietnamese shares extended their decline, with all major sectors in the red. Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp lost 3.1% and food processor Masan Group Corp fell 2.2%.

Singapore stocks, which led losses in the previous session, posted a strong recovery with a 0.7% gain. Transport provider ComfortDelGro Corp Ltd gained 3.2%, after a fall in the previous session.

Indonesian shares inched up, with consumer and energy stocks offsetting losses in the telecom sector. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk was the biggest loser, falling 1.1%, while PT Bank Mayapada Internasional Tbk gained the most.

Malaysian stocks also ticked up, and were on track to snap four straight days of falls.

Telecom service provider Axiata Group Bhd rose 3.7% and resort and hospitality operator Genting Malaysia Bhd added 1.1%.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0347 GMT

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