SE Asia Stocks-Most end higher; Singapore gains over 1 pct

* Indonesia up for 4th straight session

* Philippines hits over 1-month closing high

By Syed Saif Hussain Naqvi

July 25 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose

on Wednesday tracking strong broader Asia, with Singapore shares

gaining more than 1 percent led by financials.

Asian shares ex-Japan rose for a second

straight session boosted by an upbeat Wall Street overnight and

on hopes that Chinese government spending would spur growth.

Singapore shares extended their upward run into a

second session and ended 1 percent higher led by blue chips

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, United Overseas Bank

and DBS Group Holdings.

The Philippine index gained 0.9 percent and marked

its highest close in over a month after the International

Monetary Fund said the country is likely to sustain economic

growth at 6.7 percent this year and in 2019, pushed by strong

consumption and investment.

Financial shares accounted for more than half of the gains

on the index, with Metro Pacific Investments Corp and

BDO Unibank each rising by over 4 percent ahead of

earnings.

"Expectations for the banking sector will be stronger in the

second quarter following the recent 50 basis points rate hike of

the Philippine Central Bank," said Maybank Kim Eng analyst

Katherine Tan.

Thai shares followed suite and closed nearly 1

percent higher with all sectors ending in the positive zone.

Energy and consumer staples were the top gainers on the

benchmark, with top contributor PTT PCL rising on

higher oil prices.

Indonesian shares ended marginally higher, with

gains in energy outweighing losses in telecommunication stocks.

Astra International Tbk PT and United Tractors TBK

PT rose 3.4 percent and 5.1 percent respectively, and

were among the biggest contributors to the benchmark.

Vietnam shares fell 0.7 percent.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

STOCK MARKETS

Change on the day

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3326.83 3292.65 1.04

Bangkok 1690.08 1674.22 0.95

Manila 7514 7447.02 0.90

Jakarta 5933.889 5931.842 0.03

Kuala Lumpur 1763.78 1762.93 0.05

Ho Chi Minh 927.58 934.08 -0.70

Change on year

Market Current End 2017 Pct Move

Singapore 3326.83 3402.92 -2.24

Bangkok 1690.08 1753.71 -3.63

Manila 7514 8,558.42 -12.20

Jakarta 5933.889 6355.654 -6.64

Kuala Lumpur 1763.78 1796.81 -1.84

Ho Chi Minh 927.58 984.24 -5.76

(Reporting by Syed Saif Hussain Naqvi in Bengaluru; Editing by

Vyas Mohan)