BANGKOK: Thai stocks closed at their lowest in more than two weeks on Tuesday amid rising political tensions ahead of the Feb. 2 election, while Philippine shares extended losses for a second session with large caps under pressure due to more foreign selling. The key Thai SET index dropped 1.3 percent to 1,271.79, its lowest close since Jan. 10. Shares of airport operator Airports of Thailand and Siam Commercial Bank were among those actively traded. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has confirmed a general election will be held on Feb. 2, deputy prime minister Pongtep Tepkanjana told reporters late on Tuesday after a meeting at which the election authority had proposed a delay because of unrest in the capital. Tisco Securities strategist Viwat Techapoonphol expected near term weakness, with support for the benchmark at 1,260. "Concerns ahead of the weekend election appeared to be increased and Thai market underperformed the region mainly because of the political factor," he said. Foreign investors offloaded 3.3 billion baht ($100.29 million) of Thai shares on Tuesday, adding to Monday's $102 million, stock exchange and Thomson Reuters data showed. The Philippine main index ended down nearly 1 percent at a one-week closing low of 6,022.81, weighed down by index heavyweight Ayala Land and Ayala Corp. Foreign investors sold a net 1.14 billion peso ($25.11 million) of shares on Tuesday after selling 1.54 billion peso ($33.95 million) on Monday, stock exchange data showed. Stocks in Singapore gained 0.7 percent, Malaysia was up 0.1 percent and Indonesia rose 0.4 percent amid technical-led buying after recent falls due to expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back its bond buying further in a two-day meeting starting on Tuesday. Vietnam's stock market is closed from Tuesday to Feb. 5 for the country's Lunar New Year festival. SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 377.43 377.07 +0.10 Singapore 3062.41 3042.43 +0.66 Kuala Lumpur 1781.25 1778.88 +0.13 Bangkok 1271.79 1288.59 -1.30 Jakarta 4341.65 4322.78 +0.44 Manila 6022.81 6081.61 -0.97 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 377.43 388.37 -2.82 Singapore 3062.41 3167.43 -3.32 Kuala Lumpur 1781.25 1866.96 -4.59 Bangkok 1271.79 1298.71 -2.07 Jakarta 4341.65 4274.18 +1.58 Manila 6022.81 5889.83 +2.26 Ho Chi Minh -- 504.63 +10.28 * 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 223,178,600 169,769,690 Kuala Lumpur 153,111,900 113,484,820 Bangkok 4,504,198 4,807,113 Jakarta 2,532,395,500 2,894,272,403 Manila 67,552 71,538- Reuters

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Southeast Asia Stocks -Thai shares hit 2-wk low, M'sia up