Fading Southeast Asian Stock Recovery Puts Focus On Robust Infrastructure

(Reuters) -- As a broad-based recovery in Southeast Asian stocks from this year's bear market lows fades, investors are now pivoting to bottom-up strategies and selectively seeking stocks exposed to the region's more enduring growth themes. The MSCI index of Southeast Asia .MISU00000PUS, a benchmark of the region's biggest stocks, plunged 28 percent in the five months through September, driven in part by concerns about slowing Chinese demand and bringing valuations down to 2009 lows.