* Indonesia rises up to 1.5%
* Singapore Q1 GDP hits decade low, cuts 2019 growth outlook
* Thai Q1 GDP +2.8% y/y, slowest in over 4 years
By Niyati Shetty
May 21 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares extended gains on
Tuesday as official counts, released earlier than scheduled,
confirmed the re-election of incumbent President Joko Widodo,
while the Singapore index declined after the country cut its
2019 growth outlook.
Indonesian equities .JKSE rose as much as 1.5% after the
election commission confirmed unofficial counts, giving
President Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, a comfortable win
over ex-general Prabowo Subianto. The early results could, however, trigger a legal challenge
and potential street protests after the opposition claimed
widespread cheating.
Taye Shim, Head of Research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas said a
fundamental question that investors are asking is whether
President Jokowi can deliver reforms during his next five years.
"President Jokowi has a proven track record of delivering
reforms and at the same time managing politics."
Financials and material stocks supported the Jakarta index,
with Bank Central Asia Tbk PT BBCA.JK adding 2.1%, and PT
Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk INTP.JK gaining 6.2%.
Singapore stocks .STI declined up to 0.5% after the island
cut its full year growth forecast on Tuesday as official data
showed annual economic growth in the first quarter slipped to
the lowest in nearly a decade. Gross domestic product expanded 1.2% year-on-year in the
first three months of 2019, below the 1.5% forecast by a Reuters
poll, as manufacturing contracted due to the protracted
Sino-U.S. tariff war.
Conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd JARD.SI lost as
much as 1.9% and lender DBS Group Holdings Ltd DBSM.SI slipped
0.9%.
Adding to the region's growth worries, Thailand data also
showed the trade-reliant economy grew at its slowest annual pace
in more than four years in the first quarter, mainly due to
softer exports. However, Mizuho Bank said in a note that it "sees a gradual
pick-up on the back of incoming stimulus and the start of a
series of mega infrastructure projects."
The Thai bourse .SETI gained 0.5% despite the
disappointing data, with oil & gas firm PTT PCL PTT.BK rising
0.5%, and Airports of Thailand PCL AOT.BK adding 0.4%.
Meanwhile, other markets in the region rose as investors took
a breather from last week's sell-off.
"Emerging market has been hurt a lot compared to other
markets and I would suspect that this is only a technical
rebound," said Shim. "At the end of the day this is a very
fragile recovery."
The Philippine index .PSI climbed up to 1%, while
Malaysian equities .KLSE added 0.6%.
Vietnam stocks gained for an eighth straight session, buoyed
by financial and real estate sectors.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0404 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3193.33 3205.46 -0.38
Bangkok 1611.01 1608.11 0.18
Manila 7728.26 7660.14 0.89
Jakarta 5980.237 5907.121 1.24
Kuala Lumpur 1610.66 1605.36 0.33
Ho Chi Minh 990.74 987.13 0.37
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3193.33 3068.76 4.06
Bangkok 1611.01 1563.88 3.01
Manila 7728.26 7,466.02 3.51
Jakarta 5980.237 6,194.50 -3.46
Kuala Lumpur 1610.66 1690.58 -4.73
Ho Chi Minh 990.74 892.54 11.00