The Stock Exchange of Thailand index rebounded but Philippine stocks fell sharply for a second straight session on Thursday as the country's high inflation rate kept the mood sour and added to market jitters arising from Turkey and Argentina.
The SET index rose 7.57 points or 0.45% to end the day at 1,693.94, in trade worth 54.64 billion baht.
Philippine shares fell 1.5% to their lowest close in over two weeks.
The country's annual inflation rate hit its highest in nearly a decade in August, data showed on Wednesday.
"The action we have seen globally is really more of fleeing to safety... basically outflows from risky assets," said Fio De Jesus, an analyst at Manila based RCBC Securities.
The Philippines saw about US$18.9 million of foreign outflows on Thursday, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Indonesian shares marked their best trading day in over two weeks, with the index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks up 2.2%. However, the rupiah lingered near its weakest level last seen two decades ago.
Financials and consumer staples led the gains on the Indonesian benchmark with Bank Central Asia rising 3%.
"The onslaught of strong USD and sell-off in emerging market currencies, led by the Argentine Peso and Turkish Lira have paused, with some signs of buy-back," Mizuho Bank said in a report.
"But this pause should not be mistaken as a turning point because there is no sight of a panacea for the underlying chills about emerging markets just yet."
Singapore index fell for a second day, dragged down by real estate and industrial stocks.
Malaysian shares were marginally higher after five sessions of declines.
