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SE Asia Stocks-Most recover on trade truce hopes; Thailand, Vietnam down

* Thailand falls, energy stocks hit after oil tumble

* Malaysia top performer ahead of inflation data due later

* Markets cautious ahead of Fed meeting outcome due later

By Rashmi Ashok

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose

on Wednesday with Indonesia leading the pack on reports of

Sino-U.S. trade meetings in January, but Thailand and Vietnam

failed to shrug off steep losses of previous session and traded

lower.

The trading sentiment in Asia bolstered after U.S. Treasury

Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Bloomberg in an interview on

Tuesday that United States and China are planning to hold

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meetings in January to "document an agreement" on trade.

"Positive signals on the trade war front are stabilising

risk in Asia," Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific

at OANDA, said in a note.

"...while trade remains a work in progress, investors are at

least taking some comfort that a resolution roadmap could be in

place as soon as March 2019," he added.

The sentiment appeared to slightly improve, with MSCI's

broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

up 0.4 percent in early trade.

But investors remained cautious amid speculation that the

U.S. Federal Reserve may end its tightening cycle in its policy

meeting scheduled to conclude later on Wednesday, after a sharp

fall in oil prices and U.S. President Donald Trump's call to not

to "make yet another mistake".

Indonesia's benchmark index rose 0.5 percent to snap

three sessions of losses, with material and consumer stocks

benefitting most.

Indonesia, which imports a majority of its oil, will likely

benefit after oil prices plummeted overnight, slipping more than

5 percent on Tuesday due to fears of a supply glut and falling

demand.

Shares of telecom products retailer Global Teleshop Tbk

rose 25 percent and those of lender Bank Agris Tbk

rose about 24 percent, and were was among top

percentage gainers.

Malaysia's index bounced after closing at its lowest

level in nearly two years in the previous session, rising 0.8

percent in early trade.

Shares in airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad

gained 0.5 percent, as did those of tourist resort

operator Genting Malaysia Berhad, which rose 6.4

percent.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's consumer price index (CPI), which is

due later in the day, is expected to rise 0.5 percent in

November from a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed, marginally

slower than the previous month amid lower transport prices.

Singapore's index edged up after being the region's

worst performer in the previous session, with shares of

passenger transport service provider ComfortDelGro Corp Ltd

adding 1.4 percent.

Thailand's benchmark edged lower with heavyweight

energy stocks coming under pressure and accounting for a

majority of losses after oil prices plummeted overnight.

Shares of oil and gas company PTT PCL and PTT

Exploration and Production PCL, top losers in the

sector, lost 1.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Vietnam's index bucked the trend to edge slightly

lower. It is on track for its fifth straight day of loss with

its real-estate and consumer stocks coming under pressure.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS at 0328 GMT

Change on the day

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3054.77 3045.54 0.30

Bangkok 1580.74 1583.19 -0.15

Manila 7454.6 7420.4 0.46

Jakarta 6143.297 6081.867 1.01

Kuala Lumpur 1648.52 1635.31 0.81

Ho Chi Minh 922.81 927.25 -0.48

Change on year

Market Current End prev yr Pct Move

Singapore 3054.77 3402.92 -10.23

Bangkok 1580.74 1753.71 -9.86

Manila 7454.6 8,558.42 -12.90

Jakarta 6143.297 6,355.65 -3.34

Kuala Lumpur 1648.52 1796.81 -8.25

Ho Chi Minh 922.81 984.24 -6.24

(Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi

Aich)