SET extends fall, other SE Asia stocks drop

The Stock Exchange of Thailand main index declined for the fourth straight session, while other Southeast Asian stock markets extended falls on Monday.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand main index bounced back from afternoon plunge to close 0.17% lower on Monday. (Photo from set.or.th)

The SET index recovered from mid-day losses to close at 1,808.89, dropping only 3.09 points or 0.17%, in trade worth 69.97 billion baht.

Vietnam shares rose as much as 1% to their highest since March 2007 before reversing their course.

They fell due to "some concerns of margin availability" and a correction catchup after they bucked the downward trend seen last week in most markets of the region, said Fiachra Mac Cana, head of research at Ho Chi Minh Securities.

The index logged a gain of 1.7% last week.

Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Foreign Trade Of Viet Nam and Petrovietnam Gas were the biggest drags, down 5.3% and 4.3%, respectively.

Singapore shares dropped for a fifth straight session and posted their lowest close since Feb 14.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the worst performer with a plunge of 5.7%. Among other losers, lender DBS Group fell 1.4%, while Keppel Corp declined over 3%.

Philippine shares closed 0.9% lower in thin trade, with Manila Electric being the worst performer with a decline of 2.8%. SM Investments fell 1.9%.

Malaysian stocks finished the session down 0.7%, even after data showed exports surged 17.9% in January and beat expectations of an 11.4% rise.

Shares of aluminium trader Press Metal Aluminium Holdings were the biggest drag with a plunge of 9.1%.

Indonesia stocks fell to their lowest close in three weeks.