SET ends higher, Malaysia stocks gain

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index closed higher on Wednesday, while Malaysia shares jumped after the country's central bank governor resigned.

The SET main index closed 5.99 points or 0.35% higher to close at 1,738.70, in trade worth 58.82 billion baht. The Thai stock market posted its third consecutive session of gains.

Energy stocks pushed the index higher, with oil and gas explorer PTT Exploration and Production Plc gaining as much as 5.5%.

Malaysia's newly elected prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said on Wednesday he accepted the resignation of central bank governor Muhammad Ibrahim.

Ibrahim's departure is part of a government shake-up led by Mahathir who trounced scandal-tainted leader Najib Razak in the May 9 election.

Malaysian shares rose 1.3% to their highest close in nearly two weeks, led by gains in bank stocks such as Public Bank and CIMB Group Holdings.

Vietnam shares reversed early losses, ending 1.2% higher. Real estate and financial stocks led the gains.

Vingroup JSC rose as much as 2.7%, while Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam gained 4.6%. 

Elsewhere, Singapore snapped two sessions of gains, ending 0.4% lower.

Heavyweights DBS Group Holdings and OCBC fell as much as 1.2%.

"There are concerns that the banks will take a hit this quarter following issues at Hyflux," said Liu Jinshu, director of research at NRA Capital, referring to Singapore's water treatment firm, which has sought to begin a reorganisation of its business.

The company filed in May for a 30-day moratorium preventing creditors from taking actions that could hurt the company's finances.

"Local banks have been exposed due to loans and bonds to Hyflux, we don't have much disclosure at this point but we'll see some non-performing loans from Hyflux when the banks report their Q2 results," Jinshu added.

Indonesian shares finished 0.3% lower, while Philippine shares remained largely unchanged.