BANGKOK: Thai shares recovered strongly on Thursday to a near four-week high on foreign buying as the capital Bangkok returned to calm after weeks of political unrest, while other Southeast Asian markets mostly ended firmer though Singapore underperformed. The Thai SET index outperformed the region with a 1.4 percent gain, ending at 1,308.34 points, its highest close since Dec. 26, Thomson Reuters data showed. The strong recovery was led by bank and energy shares. Foreign investors bought a net $56.55 million worth of shares on Thursday after the Thai market saw a $221.4 million outflow in seven straight sessions through Wednesday. Thailand's Constitutional Court on Thursday deferred a ruling on whether a general election scheduled for Feb. 2 can be postponed, as protesters who say they will boycott the vote kept up pressure on the government to step down. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared a 60-day state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas from Wednesday, hoping to prevent an escalation in the protests now in their third month. The Philippines index ended 0.5 percent firmer at its highest close since Dec. 3, led by a 3.8 percent gain in BDO Unibank Inc after the IMF raised the country's growth forecast. Cautious investors are awaiting directions from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which some market players expect to further trim its bond buying next week even as Chinese manufacturing data pointed to a mild slowdown in the new year. Vietnam's benchmark VN Index closed up 0.3 percent and the Jakarta Composite index ended up 0.4 percent at its highest level since Nov. 1. Bucking the trend, Singapore underperformed the region with a 1.1 percent loss, while Malaysia fell 0.3 percent with a foreign outflow of $100.23 million, echoing sluggishness in Asian markets as investors remained cautious about Chinese manufacturing data. SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 385.41 385.16 +0.07 Singapore 3100.24 3133.74 -1.07 Kuala Lumpur 1808.31 1814.10 -0.32 Bangkok 1308.34 1290.49 +1.38 Jakarta 4496.04 4477.49 +0.41 Manila 6170.05 6139.86 +0.49 Ho Chi Minh 553.55 551.92 +0.30 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 385.41 388.37 -0.76 Singapore 3100.24 3167.43 -2.12 Kuala Lumpur 1808.31 1866.96 -3.14 Bangkok 1308.34 1298.71 +0.74 Jakarta 4496.04 4274.18 +5.19 Manila 6170.05 5889.83 +4.76 Ho Chi Minh 553.55 504.63 +9.69 * The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Stock Market Volume (shares) Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days Singapore 234,692,700 170,291,380 Kuala Lumpur 177,386,100 106,887,910 Bangkok 4,576,686 4,843,166 Jakarta 3,157,704,200 2,909,648,633 Manila 71,511 67,948 Ho Chi Minh 73,716 88,539= Reuters

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SEA Stocks: Mostly Up, Thai up to near 4-wk high, M'sia down with foreign outflow of US$100mil