SE Asia Stocks-Indonesia, Thailand set fresh records; S'pore hits 10-yr top
* Asian shares ex-Japan hit all-time high
* Philippines extends fall, hit by lender BPI's rights
offering
* Malaysia down as EU proposes ban on palm oil use in motor
fuels
By Devika Syamnath
Jan 18 (Reuters) - Thai and Indonesian stocks scaled
all-time peaks on Thursday and Singapore notched up a 10-year
top as gains on Wall Street lifted broader Asian shares.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
rose 0.2 percent to a historic high, after U.S.
stocks jumped overnight and the Dow closed above 26,000 for the
first time.
Indonesian shares rose as much as 0.6 percent,
heading for their fourth straight session of gains.
Financials and utilities led the gains, with Bank Central
Asia climbing 1.6 percent and Perusahaan Gas Negara
soaring 21.2 percent to levels not seen since
February.
Oil prices rose on Thursday on a reported decline in U.S.
crude inventories, and as rebels in Nigeria threatened to attack
the country's petroleum infrastructure, but crude benchmarks
still stayed below recent three-year highs on ample fuel
supplies.
The Thai index firmed 0.5 percent as energy and
utility stocks gained, with PTT Global Chemical
climbing to a record and PTT Pcl rising 1.2 percent.
Singapore's shares rose as much as 0.6 percent to
their highest since December 2007 as financials and IT stocks
led the gain.
The city-state's top lenders United Overseas Bank
and DBS Group Holdings rose 0.7 percent each, while
technology service provider Venture Corp climbed 2.2
percent to its highest in 14 years.
Meanwhile, Philippines fell as much as 0.9 percent,
before trimming some of the losses, as Bank of the Philippine
Islands shed 11.5 percent and parent Ayala Corp
slipped 3 pct as BPI plans to raise up to 50 billion pesos ($986
mln) via a rights offering to boost lending and support
strategic initiatives.
Metrobank, the second largest Philippine lender in asset
terms, also fell 3.7 percent as it won the board's approval to
sell shares to existing stockholders.
Malaysian shares fell 0.3 percent after the European
Union approved draft measures to ban the use of palm oil, a
major import from southeast Asia, in motor fuels from
2021.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0431
Change on day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 3547.17 3541.91 0.15
Bangkok 1834.47 1828.88 0.31
Manila 8817.83 8848.99 -0.35
Jakarta 6468.642 6444.518 0.37
Kuala Lumpur 1823.95 1828.63 -0.26
Ho Chi Minh 1027.89 1034.69 -0.66
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3547.17 3402.92 4.24
Bangkok 1834.47 1753.71 4.61
Manila 8817.83 8558.42 3.03
Jakarta 6468.642 6355.654 1.78
Kuala Lumpur 1823.95 1796.81 1.51
Ho Chi Minh 1027.89 984.24 4.43
(Reporting by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha
Gayathri)