* S'pore ends 2-day rise; Raffles, DBS lower
* Indonesia falls nearly 1 pct; Thailand up for 3rd day
* Malaysia, Philippine, Vietnam higher
By Viparat Jantraprap
BANGKOK, June 11 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock
markets came off their early highs on Thursday, with losses in
Raffles Education and DBS Group ending a 2-day rise in
Singapore while Telkom and Astra International fell in
Indonesia.
Oil prices CLc1, which firmed above $72 a barrel on
Thursday, lured investors to commodity-related shares in the
region. U.S. stock index futures DJc1, which pointed to a
higher open on Thursday, helped to limit falls.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.35 percent by 1039 GMT.
Hopes that a global economic recovery would come earlier
than previously expected had a positive impact on corporate
earnings outlooks and stock valuations, analysts said.
"Asian stocks have been in a similar pattern. With share
prices exceeding fundamentals, we should see more profit taking
and market volatility will continue," said Pichai
Lertsupongkij, head of sales at Thanachart Securities.
"The recovery story will push equities prices higher
because of analyst upgrades on earnings and target prices," he
said.
Singapore's index .FTSTI fell 0.4 percent after a 2.5
percent gain over the past two days. Raffles Education Corp
(RLSE.SI) slid 9.5 percent to S$0.62 after it said it will
place 160 million new ordinary shares at S$0.64 each.
DBS Group (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest bank, lost
2.2 percent after BNP Paribas cut its rating on the stock to
"hold" from "buy", saying the share price rise has factored in
the recovery.
Jakarta's index .JKSE dropped 0.9 percent after a 2.5
percent rise in the past two days. Indonesia's largest
telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk
(TLKM.JK) was down 2.6 percent and the largest automotive
distributor PT Astra International Tbk (ASII.JK) lost 3.7
percent.
Thai stocks .JKSE gained 0.4 percent, adding to a 4.1
percent rise over the past two days. Malaysia .KLSE added 0.6
percent, after a 1.04 percent rise on Wednesday.
The Philippine index .PSI and Vietnam .VNI each jumped
more than two percent.
In Bangkok, energy-related shares tracked oil prices
higher, with PTT PCL (PTT.BK), the country's largest energy
firm, rising 2.9 percent and coal miner Banpu BANP.BK up 2.5
percent.
Banking shares led advancers in Kuala Lumpur, with
Bumiputra Commerce BUCM.KL up 2.2 percent and Malayan Banking
(MBBM.KL) adding 0.9 percent.
In Manila, Philippine Long Distance Telephone (TEL.PS), the
country's largest listed firm, surged 6 percent and
Petrovietnam Finance Joint Stock Corp PVF.HM climbed nearly 5
percent in Hanoi.
($1=34.05 Baht)
(Editing by Darren Schuettler)
