SE Asia Stocks-Most gain; Singapore up over 1 pct

* Singapore up 1.1 pct as banks lead

* Vietnam surges 2.6 pct

* Philippine shares snap 5 sessions of gains

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended

in positive territory on Wednesday, with Singapore recording its

best close since early February led by financials.

Asian peers gained while the dollar advanced as traders'

near-term focus shifted to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's

last policy meeting for hints on the future pace of U.S.

monetary tightening.

Asia shares ex-Japan rose as much as 0.9

percent to an over two-week high.

Singapore shares climbed 1.1 percent, with top bank

DBS Group Holdings rising 2.8 percent to a record

close.

Peers United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese

Banking Corporation gained 1.4 percent and 1.3

percent, respectively.

Electronics services provider Venture Corporation Ltd

surged 3.6 percent to its highest close since early

2000.

The city-state's headline inflation rate in January was

likely unchanged from a month earlier, while the annual core

inflation rate rose slightly, a Reuters poll showed on

Wednesday. The data is due Friday at 0500 GMT.

Vietnam shares resumed trade on a strong note after a

five-day holiday, surging 2.6 percent to their best close since

Feb. 2.

Vinamilk was the top contributor, up 5 percent in

its biggest jump since Nov. 13.

Vietnam is the best performer in the region so far this

year, having risen 10.5 percent.

Malaysian shares ended marginally higher, its sixth

session on top out of seven, while Indonesia shares were

0.3 percent lower.

Philippine shares broke a five-session winning streak

and finished 1.3 percent lower with broad-based losses.

Ayala Land and SM Investments were the

biggest drags, falling 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent,

respectively.

Universal Robina Corp dropped 2.9 percent ahead of

its quarterly results to settle at its lowest since

mid-December.

Thai shares ended flat, with gains in oil and gas

giant PTT Pcl marginally outweighing losses in most

other sectors.

PTT surged 6.5 percent to its all-time best close after

reporting a 43 percent rise in full-year net profit.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3516.23 3476.53 1.14

Bangkok 1801.16 1801.02 0.01

Manila 8613.65 8722.7 -1.25

Jakarta 6643.4 6662.876 -0.29

Kuala Lumpur 1858.17 1855.99 0.12

Ho Chi Minh 1087.15 1059.73 2.59

Change on year

Market Current End 2017 Pct Move

Singapore 3516.23 3402.92 3.33

Bangkok 1801.16 1753.71 2.71

Manila 8613.65 8558.42 0.65

Jakarta 6643.4 6355.654 4.53

Kuala Lumpur 1858.17 1796.81 3.41

Ho Chi Minh 1087.15 984.24 10.46

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)