SE Asian stocks resilient in contrast to rest of Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Reuters): Most Southeast Asian stock markets posted limited gains Monday as selective buying in growth stocks such as Indonesian cement firms and institutional buying of Thai large caps helped offset weak sentiment elsewhere in Asia. News of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il raised fears of regional instability, while the euro zone's debt crisis continued to keep investors away from risk assets. Asian equities in general and US stock index futures fell, with South Korean shares tumbling as much as 5 per cent, while the dollar gained on safe-haven appeal. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 2.14 per cent by 0904 GMT. Southeast Asian markets seemed to focus more on local factors, plus better recent economic data from the United States. "Our long-held view of no US double-dip recession is holding firm with recovering momentum in the United States," said CIMB Research regional strategist Chang Chiou Yi. The Indonesian market was poised for a strong gain in 2012 following a recent credit rating upgrade by Fitch to investment grade that reflected structural improvements, Chang said. In a choppy session, Jakarta's Composite Index ended up 0.05 per cent. PT Bank Mandiri Tbk gained 1.5 per cent as it was among eight banks also upgraded by Fitch. Faring worst on the day, Singapore fell 1.55 per cent to its lowest in more than two months. The city-state, seen as having greater exposure to global markets, fell 1.3 per cent last week, the worst performance among the main Southeast Asian stock markets.