OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2015. Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell after range-bound session on Wednesday as investors awaited the Fed policy statement for clues on US interest rates, but Thai index snapped a three-day losing streak amid institutional-led buying.

The SET index closed up 1.2 percent, recovering after a third straight fall on Tuesday to a more than two-month low. Brokers said domestic institutions bought shares for their long only "trigger funds".

Trigger funds, a type of mutual fund, automatically redeem after hitting their performance target.

Banking shares and dividend-yielding stocks were among outperformers, led by state run Krung Thai Bank, Siam Cement and Kasikornbank.

Stocks in Indonesia hit the lowest close in more than three weeks and Singapore finished at the lowest level since Jan. 21. Philippines and Vietnam both reversed from the gains on the previous day.

European shares followed Asian stocks higher on Wednesday and the dollar held steady before a Federal Reserve meeting that's expected to lay the groundwork for the first increase in US interest rates in nearly a decade.