CORRECTED-SE Asia Stocks-Thai stocks at 8-mth high
(Corrects headline and first paragraph to show Thai index hit 8-month high, not a 3-week high)
* Thai stocks at 8-month high
* Financials lift Indonesia and Singapore
* Malaysia, the Philippines end 3-day gains
By Viparat Jantraprap
BANGKOK, June 3 (Reuters) - Banking and building firms powered Thai shares to an 8-month high on Wednesday, while an interest rate cut triggered buying of financials and index heavyweights in Indonesia.
Asian shares hit eight-month highs after U.S. home sales data added to optimism about the global economic recovery and the dollar struggled off its latest set of lows for the year. "The stock market rallies were mainly liquidity driven. The market gains went beyond fundamentals and we expect this phenomenon to continue," Viwat Techapoonphol, a strategist at Tisco Securities, said.
Thailand's main stock index .SETI finished up 1.4 percent after falling nearly one percent on Tuesday. Siam Commercial Bank SCB.BK, the country's third biggest bank, rose 8.6 percent, while fourth-ranked Kasikornbank KBAN.BK added 6.4 percent.
Investors bought construction-related firms after a Thai court upheld the use of an executive decree empowering the government to borrow $11.7 billion domestically to boost the country's ailing economy.
Siam Cement SCC.BK, the country's top cement firm, rose 2.6 percent, while smaller peer TPI Polene TPIP.BK jumped 18.3 percent. Steel bar producer Tata Steel TSTH.BK added 1.2 percent.
Indonesia's index .JKSE rose 0.6 percent after its central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 7 percent and pointed to more reductions to come.
Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGAS.JK) climbed 6.3 percent and Bank Danamon (BDMN.JK) rose 2.5 percent.
Singapore's index .FTSTI ended up 0.3 percent after a 0.2 percent loss on Tuesday, with United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) and DBS Group (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest bank, each gaining more than two percent.
Among decliners in the region, Malaysia's index .KLSE and the Philippine index .PSI each dropped 0.8 percent after rising in the last three sessions. Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional (TENA.KL) fell 1.95 percent, while Metrobank (MBT.PS) in Manila lost 5.4 percent. ($1= 33.99 Baht) (Editing by Darren Schuettler)
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