Philippine stocks jump on Duterte poll win
Most Southeast Asian stocks closed higher on Tuesday with the Philippine index gaining its most in over three months after maverick mayor Rodrigo Duterte emerged as the country's next president, ending the uncertainty over the elections.
The Philippine stock index jumped 2.6% after falling as much as 0.7% in early trading.
"Philippine stocks were down earlier in the day on uncertainty over the presidential elections ... but then by mid-day, Duterte's rivals had conceded and he emerged as the clear winner," Maybank ATR Kim Eng analyst Luz Lorenzo said.
There were also no allegations of foul play against Duterte and these gave investors the belief that the transition of the new government would be smooth, Lorenzo said.
The Philippine presidential elections had weighed on investor sentiments as the rough-talking Duterte had been very vague on what he would do to spur the economy, creating uncertainty in the stock markets.
The Philippine index had fallen 2.3% last week.
Duterte's comments so far, including easing foreign ownership limits, have allowed investors to give him the benefit of doubt for now, Maybank wrote in a note to clients.
Financials and Industrials led the rally with SM Prime Holdings touching its life-time high. Bloomberry Resorts rose more than 6%.
Singapore fell 0.9%, wiping out most of its gains on Monday, and remained the worst performing index in the region.
The index has fallen 11 out of the last 12 sessions, taking year-to-date losses to nearly 5%.
Golden Agri-Resources fell nearly 4%, while Wilmar International ended the day down 2.3%.
Jakarta ended 0.3% higher and Kuala Lumpur gained 0.2%.