Most Southeast Asian markets extended multi-day rallies on Tuesday, as re-opening of regional economies overshadowed global concerns ranging from flaring Sino-US tensions to violent protests in American cities.
After several weeks of coronavirus-induced lockdowns which have debilitated their economies, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines began returning to business under eased restrictions.
Regional markets shrugged off tensions arising from rapidly escalating protests in the United States, as well as an on-going battle of wills over Hong Kong which could threaten the hard-fought trade deal between Beijing and Washington.
However, "the narrative that equities are buoyed by "re-opening" is vulnerable to sharp capitulation, if demonstrations turn ugly," Mizuho Bank warned in a note.
Singaporean stocks led gains and hit their highest close in a month. Blue-chip conglomerates Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd and Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd rose between 3% and 4.2%.
Indonesian stocks, up 2%, hit their highest close since mid-March, with the financial sector contributing to nearly half of the index's gains.
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk added 3.3%. Philippine equities closed at their highest level in nearly three months with gains in big caps such as SM Investments Corp and Security Bank Corp lifting the index.
Shares in Malaysia, up 1.2%, ended at their highest since the third week of February, while Thai stocks closed at a three-month peak. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines extended their winning streak for a fifth session,
Thailand was up for a third session, while for Singapore, it was a second day of gains. Vietnam, the sole outlier, see-sawed throughout the session to end lower, snapping three days of gains.