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
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)