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Asean Stock Watch- July 29

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US

The Dow Jones average closed down 0.51 percent ahead of a U.S. debt vote, which was later postponed. The S&P 500 index fell 0.32 percent, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.05 percent.

U.S. crude oil closed lower at USD 97.18 a barrel, while gold also ended lower at US$1,614.30 an ounce.

Indonesia

The benchmark index fell from a record high on Thursday, tracking declines across the region on concern that the political wrangling in the United States might push the world’s biggest economy toward default and the loss of its top credit rating.

The Jakarta Composite Index dropped 28.29 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 4,145.83, paring Wednesday’s 1 percent gain. More than 6.39 billion shares valued at Rp 5.7 trillion ($667 million) changed hands. Decliners beat gainers 131 to 109.

Most Asian markets fell on concern that US President Barack Obama and Republican leaders would be unable to reach a compromise on raising the country’s debt ceiling.

A debt default would likely prompt credit ratings agencies to lower their recommendations on US bonds, which would push up borrowing costs and, in turn, further curb economic growth. The United States is one of Indonesia’s biggest trading partners.

“News about the US debt ceiling affected the region and Indonesia’s market,” said Bertrand Reynaldi, head researcher at eTrading Securities in Jakarta. “If the US does not reach an agreement on its debt ceiling, it will be downgraded, and that will affect the global economy.”

Shares of companies with the largest market value on the exchange led declines.

Bank Mandiri, the largest lender by assets, fell 1.9 percent to Rp 7,900. Bank Central Asia dropped 1.8 percent to Rp 8,200.

Astra International, the country’s biggest auto retailer, plunged 4.3 percent to Rp 71,750. Shares of state-run Krakatau Steel fell 1.8 percent to Rp 1,120, and state-run cement maker Semen Gresik lost 3.5 percent to Rp 9,650.

Bucking the trend, Bank Bukopin surged 9 percent to Rp 850 after reporting first-half net income jumped 43 percent to Rp 428.9 billion from a year earlier on higher lending.

Investors might not move their money to Indonesia until there is a resolution to the US debt crisis, Bertrand said. “In cases like this, investors and fund managers do not automatically move to the Indonesian market, they will wait and gauge the market reaction in general,” he said.

The rupiah fell 0.1 percent to 8,493 against the greenback at the market’s close on Thursday.

Malaysia

At Bursa Malaysia on Friday, decliners outpaced advancers by 244 to 161 while 229 other counters were traded unchanged.

There were 303.05 million shares done with a total turnover of RM216.4 million.

Among the gainers were Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd which was up 14 sen to RM13.18, Tasek Corp Bhd which rose 14 sen to RM7.90 and Genting Bhd which was up 10 sen to RM10.78.

The losers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd which fell 20 sen to RM21.56 and Malayan Banking Bhd which fell 6 sen to RM8.77.

At 10am today, Nymex crude oil in electronic trade was US$0.19 lower at US$97.25 per barrel.

Spot gold was quoted at US$1,615.07 per ounce while spot silver was quoted at US$39.81.

The ringgit was quoted at RM2.955 to the US dollar and RM4.228 to the euro.

Philippines

Philippine share prices closed flat on Thursday because of the continued uncertainties overseas. At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the composite index lost 0.09, or 0.002 percent to 4,482.80, while the broader all-shares index inched up 2.71 points, or 0.09 percent to 3,110.57.

Decliners beat advancers, 76 to 60, while 48 stocks were unchanged. A total of 3.41 billion stocks worth P4.28 billion changed hands.

“The sideways trend of the market prevailed as overseas uncertainties provided no guidance and local developments gave nothing exciting,” said Maria Arlysa Narciso of AB Capital Securities Inc.

With the looming August 2 deadline, investors became more anxious since the ongoing debt talks in Washington showed no signs it was close to a resolution.

At the Philippine Dealing System, the peso shed six centavos to close at 42.17 from 42.11 the previous trading day.

The dollar-peso pair opened at 42.20 and moved to a high of 42.27 and a low of 42.17.

Total trading volume eased to $811.82 million from $899.72 million on Wednesday.

The currency pair may trade within a range of 42 and 42.50 today.

Singapore

Singapore shares opened flat on Friday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index at 3,188.55 in early trade, down 0.04 percent, or 1.30 points.

Around 178.8 million shares exchanged hands.

Thailand

The Stock Exchange of Thailand main index went up 3.67 points or 0.32 percent to close at 1,134.38 points at the end of trading session on Thursday Afternoon. The trade value was 28.90 billion baht, with 5.07 billion shares traded.

The SET50 index ended at 795.40 points, up 2.58 points or 0.33 percent, with a total trade value of 17.67 billion baht.

The SET100 index rose 5.86 points or 0.34 percent to stand at 1,733.28 points, with a total turnover of 22.27 billion baht.

The SETHD index went up 3.47 points or 0.32 percent to stand at 1,083.29 points, with total trade value of 6.38 billion baht.

The MAI index went down 0.09 points or 0.03 percent to close at 317.79 points, with total transaction value of 1.87 billion baht.

Top five most active values were as follows;

KBANK closed at 141.00 baht, unchanged

PTT closed at 351.00 baht, unchanged

CPF closed at 31.25 baht, unchanged

PTTCH closed at 162.00 baht, down 1.50 baht (0.92 percent)

SCC closed at 379.00 baht, up 4.00 baht (1.07 percent)

Vietnam

The benchmark VN-Index failed to sustain its early gains, closing down 0.25 percent on Thursday at 408.39 points, though it reached over 411 points early in the morning.

The trading value decreased by 18 percent to just VND417 billion (US$20.2 million) as nearly 23.6 million shares changed hands.

Losers inched up gainers by 101-97 overall on the HCM City bourse.

Blue chip performances were mixed. Software producer FPT (FPT), financial group Masan Group (MSN), Sacombank (STB), Vietcombank (VCB), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) and steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) all rose; while insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), property developer Vincom (VIC) and Vinperalland (VPL) and Vietinbank (CTG) lost value.

The fourth largest listed lender by capitalisation, Sacombank, became the most active stock, but with just over 800,000 shares changing hands, closing up 0.7 per cent at VND13,900 ($0.67). On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index managed a tiny gain of 0.04 percent to close at 69.95 points.

Today's trading value was bleak with just 16.4 million shares worth over VND198.5 billion ($9.6 million) changing hands.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by 125-111 overall.

Kim Long Securities (KLS) was again the most active stock nationwide, with 1.71 million shares exchanged, closing up 1 percent at VND10,600 ($0.51).