SE Asia Stocks-Most rise on trade deal hopes, Singapore leads

* Philippine cbank policy decision expected later in day * Singapore set to snap two straight sessions of losses By Shreya Mariam Job Feb 7 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets firmed on Thursday, led by Singapore, as news of further talks between Beijing and Washington bolstered hopes of a trade deal being struck before the March 2 deadline. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he and other U.S. officials will travel to Beijing next week for trade talks, aiming to clinch a deal to avert an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Singapore shares gained as much as 0.9 percent following a two-day holiday, helped by industrial and telecom stocks. The market, which has seen minimal trading this week following a partial trading session on Monday and two days of holidays thereafter on account of the Chinese New Year, was on track to snap two straight sessions of losses. "Singapore equities have some catching up to do as the U.S. markets have done well over the last two trading sessions. At the same time, traders are also placing bets ahead of the budget on Feb. 18," said Liu Jinshu, head of research at Tayrona Financial Pte Ltd. Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd climbed as much as 3.1 percent and was the biggest boost to the benchmark index, while Singapore Telecommunications Ltd rose up to 2 percent. Philippine stocks strengthened 0.6 percent, boosted by industrials and financials, ahead of the central bank policy meeting. The central bank is expected to leave interest rates on hold for a second straight meeting, with inflation in January easing to its slowest in 10 months. Inflation has been a cause of concern in the archipelago with rates rising since the start of 2018 and reaching a 10-year high in September, prompting the central bank to raise rates by a total of 175 basis points in five consecutive meetings in 2018. Index heavyweights SM Prime Holdings Inc and SM Investments Corp gained 1.2 percent each. Utilities and telecoms helped the Malaysian benchmark stock index gain 0.4 percent. Tenaga Nasional Bhd firmed 1.4 percent, while Maxis Bhd strengthened 2.2 percent. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0343 GMT Change on the day Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3212.5 3184.56 0.88 Bangkok 1662.59 1658.71 0.23 Manila 8105.42 8058.45 0.58 Jakarta 6537.104 6547.877 -0.16 Kuala Lumpur 1690.48 1683.61 0.41 Change so far in 2019 Market Current End 2018 Pct Move Singapore 3212.5 3068.76 4.68 Bangkok 1662.59 1563.88 6.31 Manila 8105.42 7,466.02 8.56 Jakarta 6537.104 6,194.50 5.53 Kuala Lumpur 1690.48 1690.58 -0.01 (Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)