Southeast Asian shares declined on Thursday, Indonesian shares fell following disappointing corporate results while the Jakarta stock index led declines in the region.
Singapore stocks edged lower from a more than 10-month high as benign broader markets were reflected across the Southeast Asia.
Asian shares trickled lower on resurgent fears of slowing global growth, as well as a softer lead-in from Wall Street overnight, reports Reuters.
The Jakarta stock index fell 0.7 per cent. Unilever Indonesia plunged for a second straight day and Maybank Kim Eng said the company's quarterly profit declined 5.0 per cent and came slightly below expectations.
Unilever is among the top consumer stocks in the country, and any decline in its results points to a weaker operating environment for the second heaviest sector in the Indonesian benchmark.
Processed meat producer Charoen Pokphand Indonesia and cigarettes maker Gudang Garam dropped about 4.0 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, while an index of the 45 most liquid Indonesian stocks fell 1.0 per cent, implying high volatility in equities.
Investors are also anticipating a rate decision from the Indonesian Central Bank later in the day, with a Reuters poll expecting them to stand pat.
Singapore stocks shed about 0.2 per cent after ending at their highest since June 2018 on Wednesday.
Financials were the largest drag on the index, with lending heavyweights DBS Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp falling 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
Bucking the trend, Thai stocks rose about 0.1 per cent, with real estate and financial stocks leading gains.
Land and Houses PCL added about 1.8 per cent, while credit card provider Krungthai Card PCL rose 1.9 per cent.
