SE Asia stocks mixed; Philippines outperforms despite outflows

Reuters: Southeast Asian stock markets ended mixed on Monday, with the Philippine index outperforming the region even as foreign investors exited on a possible US rate hike next month.

Investor sentiment was dented by slumping commodity prices, traders said.

The Philippine stock index rose 0.9% to its highest close since 10 November, led by industry and financial shares. The country saw outflows worth $18.79 million.

Malaysia gained 0.5%, while the Thai SET index ended steady as gains in consumer-related shares were offset by commodity stocks. Thailand saw a net $23.40 million inflow. 

The Singapore index fell 0.5%, while the Jakarta Composite Index dropped 0.4% from a more than two-week high hit in the previous session. 

Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index ended down 0.7%, the strongest drop in nearly two weeks, with food, beverage and tobacco firms leading the losers.