Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Outflows pull index to 3-month low

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Outflows pull index to 3-month low May 22nd 2012, 06:47 Tue May 22, 2012 2:47am EDT Foreign investors have been selling Thai equities in May, stock exchange data shows, reversing four consecutive months of strong buying and pulling the benchmark SET index to its lowest in almost three months. Net foreign selling in the month to Monday totalled $310 million, after $2.73 billion of net foreign buying in the four months that ended in April. The fund outflows came in line with the trend in most Southeast Asian stock markets, including Indonesia's $445 million in outflows for the same period, the Philippines' $255 million and Vietnam's $1.72 million, according to Thomson Reuters data. Foreign flow data for Singapore and Malaysia is not available. The benchmark SET index rose 0.65 percent to 1,142.55 at the mid-session break at 0530 GMT, recovering on improving sentiment elsewhere in Asia. Citigroup maintains its year-end SET index target at 1,240. "While bullish medium-to-long term on the private investment up-cycle, we prefer to maintain our year-end SET ... Near-term threats from deteriorating global and regional growth sentiment and rising cost pressure could trigger a correction toward 1,060," Citi said in a report. "The imminent correction will likely be milder," it said, citing better domestic growth visibility, driven by the private investment cycle. The Chinese authorities ending tightening policies and clearer liquidity policy stance from all major Central Banks would be supportive, it said. 1317 (0617 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) ************************************************************ 11:38 Stanley up on auto sector recovery Shares in auto-parts manufacturer Thai Stanley Electric Pcl STAN.BK hit a one-week high on expectation of a recovery in auto production which was hit by floods in Thailand late last year. Stanley shares were up 1.6 percent at 191 baht ($6.09), climbing at one point to 193 baht ($6.16), the highest since May 14, outpacing a 0.8 percent gain of the auto subindex .SETAU and a 0.3 percent rise of the benchmark SET index .SETI. Four out of six analysts tracking the company rate it a buy or strong buy, one rate it a hold and one gives it a sell rating. Broker Phillip Securities pegged the stock's target price at 210 baht ($6.70), reflecting an earnings upgrade partly due to a resumption of production at Honda 7267.T, one of Stanley's major clients, and its capacity expansion. "To reflect a faster-than-expected earnings recovery in the fourth quarter, a resumption of production at Honda in early May 2012 and new orders for eco-cars from Mitsubishi and Suzuki, we raise our fiscal year 2013 sales projection by 3 percent," the broker said in a report. "Even though the daily minimum wage hike effective in April 2012 would erode Stanley's profitability ... the impact could be offset by corporate income tax cuts and economies of scale," it said. 1130 (0430 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com; Editing by Robert Birsel) ($1 = 31.345 baht) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions