* Singapore, Thailand hit by profit taking
* Malaysia nears 9-month high
* Indonesia flat, Philippines, Vietnam near 8-month highs
By Viparat Jantraprap
BANGKOK, June 2 (Reuters) - Shares in Singapore and
Thailand fell on Tuesday, snapping a 2-day rally as investors
took profits from soaring commodity stocks and other index
heavyweights late in the trading session.
Stock markets elsewhere in Southeast Asia ended mixed as
demand for shares faded along with easing oil prices, analysts
said.
"The profit taking simply followed the direction of crude
oil prices," Kosin Sripaiboon, head of research at UOB Kay Hian
Securities in Bangkok, said.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 62 cents to $67.96 a barrel by 1030
GMT, down from a 7-month high on Monday.
Singapore's Straits Times Index .FTSTI edged down 0.2
percent after surging to a fresh 8-month high in early trade.
Developer CapitaLand (CATL.SI) slid 0.5 percent after a 5.5
percent rise on Monday.
Palm plantation firm Wilmar International (WLIL.SI) fell
3.6 percent on easing Malaysian palm oil futures KPOc3 and a
retreating crude oil price.
Regional palm plantations were mostly lower, with
Malaysia's Sime Darby (SIME.KL) down 1.4 percent and Thai
Univanich Palm Oil UVAN.BK off 0.3 percent.
Malaysia's index .KLSE eked out a slim 0.2 percent gain
to near a 9-month high. Maybank (MBBM.KL) rose 3.8 percent,
building on a 5 percent gain on Monday, while Public Bank
(PUBM.KL) advanced 0.6 percent.
Thailand's benchmark SET index .SETI fell almost one
percent, after earlier touching its highest level in more than
8 months. Top energy firm PTT (PTT.BK) fell 2.2 percent and
refiner Thai Oil TOP.BK was off 4.1 percent.
Dealers in Bangkok said investors were cautious ahead of
the Constitutional Court's verdict on Wednesday on the
government's executive decree to raise funds for its economic
stimulus package.
Indonesia's stock index .JKSE was nearly unchanged, with
Medco Energy (MEDC.JK) down 6 percent and Bank Rakyat (BBRI.JK)
up 4.7 percent. The Philippine index .PSI and Vietnam .VNI
extended their gains to near 8-month highs.
($1= 34.08 Baht)
(Editing by Darren Schuettler)
