Singapore shares rose slightly on Friday, gaining for the sixth session in seven, while Indonesian stocks extended their decline into a second day after hitting an all-time high earlier this week. Other South-east Asian stock markets were largely flat, while broader Asia was marginally lower as investors took profits after a strong week.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters he will either renegotiate or terminate what he calls a “horrible” free trade deal with South Korea and that Seoul should pay for a U.S. anti-missile system that he priced at $1 billion. In Singapore, financial stocks led the gains with DBS Group climbing as much as 1.2 percent and United Overseas Bank rising 1.7 percent.
The FTSE Straits Times index has gained 1 percent so far this week, heading for its biggest weekly gain in 10. Investors shrugged off data showing that the city-state’s preliminary unemployment rate for the first quarter rose to its highest since 2009 at 2.3 percent. In Indonesia, consumer and energy stocks led the decline. Conglomerate Astra International dropped 0.6 percent, while Adaro Energy declined 2.7 percent.
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Malaysian shares rose marginally in thin trade and were on track for a second straight weekly gain. “In the morning, there was some movement on Tenaga Nasional that pushed up the market,” said an analyst with BIMB Securities. Shares of Tenaga Nasional were up 0.9 percent after the electricity utility reported positive first-quarter results on Thursday. The Malaysian market might see some profit taking, but net foreign buying may keep the market buoyed, the analyst said, adding the recovering ringgit also helped.
Thai shares edged down with Siam Cement Pcl declining 1 percent and Airports of Thailand Pcl shedding 1.2 percent. Thailand’s industrial output declined for a second straight month in March, less than expected, due to weaker production of autos and jewellery, suggesting that economic recovery remains fragile. The Philippine market was closed for a special holiday.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)