BANGKOK: Shares in Thailand’s property firms rallied on Wednesday after the central bank unexpectedly cut rates, lifting the laggard sector gripped by political woes and a weak economic backdrop.

The property sub-index jumped 3.2%, the best performing sector on the Thai bourse. It had fallen around 11% this month to Tuesday, underperforming the 5.8% loss of the broader market.

“The unexpected rate cut gave a psychological lift to the laggard sector,” said analyst Danai Tunyapisitchai of broker Phillip Securities. “Lower rates fundamentally are positive to property sales and so, we see buyers of shares of blue-chip developers today.”

Shares of Thailand’s largest developer Land & Houses leapt 4.7% to 10.10 baht, the highest since Nov 20. It was the third biggest percentage gainer on the large cap SET50 index.

Shares of No 2 developer Pruksa Real Estate jumped 3.4% near a one-week high while shares of condominium developer LPN Development rose more than 1%, hovering around its highest in a week.

Thailand’s central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a point to 2.25% on Wednesday, saying political tension was affecting investor confidence and there was no sign of exports recovering.

The broader benchmark SET index climbed 1% after being rangebound before the interest rate decision.

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