Thai shares surge in late trade, outrun SE Asian peers

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index led other Southeast Asian markets on Monday as investors braced for an event-heavy week led by US inflation figures and the First House testimony by the new head of the Federal Reserve.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand main index surges to a near one-month closing high on Monday. (Photo from set.or.th)

The SET main index shot up in late trade, climbing 1.44% to a near one-month closing high at 1,834.18 points, in trade worth 72 billion baht. Two energer stocks -- PTT Plc and Banpu Plc -- led the gains.

Asian shares made guarded gains, as investors awaited US inflation data later in the week, while the spotlight was also on the new Fed chair Jerome Powell, who will face questions from both houses of the US Congress in semi-annual testimony starting on Tuesday.

Vietnam shares climbed 1.1% to a one-month closing high on broad-based gains, with real estate and energy stocks leading the rise.

Stocks rose in line with Wall Street, which rallied on Friday following a retreat in Treasury yields, said Fiachra Mac Cana, head of research at Ho Chi Minh Securities.

Property developer Vingroup ended at a record high, while Vietnam National Petroleum Group rose 6.8%. 

Philippine shares recovered from early falls to close 0.4% higher. Financials were the top gainers with BDO Unibank climbing 2% after the bank posted a 7% rise in 2017 net income.

Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures was the biggest boost to the index, rising 4.2% to its highest close since October 2016.

Singapore shares posted a near one-month closing high, helped by financial and industrial stocks. Data showed that the island state's industrial production grew more than expected in January, helped by a jump in electronics output.

Indonesian shares closed 1% lower, hurt mainly by financials.

Bank Central Asia and Bank Mandiri both ended about 3% lower.

An index of the 45 most liquid stocks in the country ended 1.5% lower.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo selected Perry Warjiyo, a deputy governor at Bank Indonesia, as his choice for central bank governor when the current head steps down in May.