SE Asia Stocks-Higher ahead of Fed meet; Indonesia hits 4-mth peak

By Ambar Warrick

March 14 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets

edged up in thin trade on Tuesday as investor sentiment remained

subdued ahead of a two-day policy meeting of the U.S. Federal

Reserve that is widely expected to raise interest rates.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has signalled that the U.S. central

bank would likely hike rates at its March 14-15 policy meeting.

"Markets are mixed for the time being ahead of the Federal

Reserve meeting," said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Manila-based

Asiasec Equities. "There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment,

which is what's holding back the positions of most markets."

In Indonesia, shares hit a 4-month high, led by

financials and energy stocks.

An index of the 45 most liquid stocks was up 0.6

percent.

Bank Central Asia touched a near 5-month peak,

while conglomerate United Tractors rose as much as 2.9

percent.

"The construction sector improved from a year ago, which has

boosted sentiment in Indonesia," said Cruz. "There is also a

rally in mining stocks, as coal prices have rebounded lately."

Philippine shares rose as much as 0.6 percent, led by

industrials.

Conglomerate SM investments rose as much as 2.5

percent, extending gains from the previous session.

Food and beverages producer Universal Robina rose

as much as 3.2 percent, its biggest intraday percentage gain in

nearly two months.

Vietnam rose slightly, with utilities and consumer

staples leading the gains. Petrovietnam Gas joint Stock

rose as much as 3.1 percent, while food processor Masan Group

rose to its highest in more than two months.

Singapore fell 0.2 percent, as real estate and

consumer staples lost ground.

Property developer CapitaLand and Thai Beverage

both fell as much as 1.6 percent.

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares

outside Japan was up 0.3 percent as of 0450 GMT.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change at 0451 GMT

Market Current Previous Pct Move

Close

Singapore 3141.66 3147.15 -0.17

Bangkok 1537.1 1535.51 0.10

Manila 7268.67 7233.09 0.49

Jakarta 5445.544 5409.372 0.67

Kuala Lumpur 1722.3 1721.92 0.02

Ho Chi Minh 712.94 710.17 0.39

Change so far

Market Current End 2016 Pct Move

Singapore 3141.66 2880.76 9.06

Bangkok 1537.1 1542.94 -0.38

Manila 7268.67 6840.64 6.07

Jakarta 5445.544 5296.711 2.81

Kuala Lumpur 1722.3 1641.73 4.91

Ho Chi Minh 712.94 664.87 6.98

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju

Dwarakanath)