Most Southeast Asian stock markets were flat-to-weaker on Thursday in line with Asian shares, but Thai construction stocks rose after the government set a clear timeline for completing key infrastructure projects.
The Thai SET index was up 0.33 per cent led by gains in builder Sino Thai Engineering , which climbed 1.4 per cent to their highest since April 27, and Italian Thai Development which rose 1.3 per cent.
Transport Minister Prajin Juntong had unveiled on Wednesday a timeline for the construction of key projects, including dual track trains worth 300 billion baht ($8.97 billion).
“We have a positive view of the transport minister’s address yesterday regarding the transport infrastructure development plan that will focus on all types of transportation,’’ strategists of broker Maybank Kim Eng Securities wrote in a report.
Indexes in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam all traded in negative territory. Singapore’s key index extended its weaknesses for a fourth day to the lowest since May 7.
Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting bolstered expectations that US interest rates will remain near zero until later in 2015.
Singapore-based broker NRA Capital said the local bourse was not likely to recover on news about the possibility of a delay in US interest rate hikes.
“That was always in the background. Of more immediate concern is the pace of the economic slowdown, both here and overseas, and especially in China which has instead had a series of interest rate cuts in a bit to stimulate the economy,’’ it said.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was effectively flat.