BANGKOK: Thai stocks retreated on Thursday as protests against the political amnesty bill hit consumer confidence, while Indonesian shares eked out gains amid selective buying in large caps and consumption-related stocks.
Other Southeast Asian stocks, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, were flat to weaker as investors in Asia waited for US nonfarm payroll data to gauge when the Federal Reserve might begin to taper its monetary stimulus programme.
The Thai SET index was down 0.8 per cent at mid-day as investors took profits after the market gained over the past two sessions. A university poll showed consumer confidence in Thailand fell for the seventh month in October.
Caution prevailed and volume was relatively light as several groups of protesters said they would not stop rallying against the government's blanket amnesty bill even if the Senate rejects the draft.
Market risk skewed towards the downside, strategists at broker Phillip Securities wrote in a report. "Even though concerns about blanket amnesty bill eased ... anti-amnesty protests, however, continued and several groups escalated protests to oust the government," they said.
Shares of Krung Thai Bank fell 1.5 per cent after rallying nearly eight per cent over the past two sessions, while Advanced Info Service shares extended their slide due to weak earnings and a cut in revenue growth target.
Jarkarta's Composite Index bucked the trend, rising 0.7 per cent and extending gains from Wednesday, helped by buying in shares such as PT Astra International, the conglomerate with interests from banking to autos.
Strong-than-expected private consumption data in the third quarter bolstered sentiment around consumption-related stocks, while a rise in foreign exchange reserves in October was also supportive, brokers said.
Indonesia fared better than expectations, with broker Trimegah Securities earlier expecting a 4,465 resistance level for the JCI.
"On the technical point of view, JCI remains on a short-term bullish pattern with the potential upside to reach its 4,465 resistance level," it said in a report.-
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