SE Asia Stocks-Most rise on hopes of Sino-U.S. trade war relief

* Indonesia set to snap three sessions of gains * Philippines on track to rise for second straight day By Shreya Mariam Job Jan 18 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday taking cues from broader Asia, with Philippines leading gains, after a media report on progress in U.S.-China trade talks stirred hopes of a deal in their tariff dispute and supported risk sentiment. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and had suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for Jan. 30, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the internal deliberations. However, a Treasury spokesperson denied the report saying the process with China is nowhere near completion. While the news boosted sentiment in the market, analysts are of the opinion that "alleged equity market motivations of the rumour/speculation" might hamper trade agreements. "If calming financial markets is indeed the main motivation for any conciliatory moves on U.S.-China trade tariffs, it begs the question of durability of any subsequent trade talks' outcome," said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist at Mizuho Bank. Despite the denial from the Treasury department, global equity markets advanced as investors turned optimistic about softening trade tensions. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.7 percent. Industrial and financial stocks drove the Philippine benchmark index 1 percent higher, leading gains in the region. Shares of BDO Unibank Inc climbed 1.9 percent, while those of Ayala Corp advanced 1.6 percent. The Singapore index recovered from the losses of the previous session owing to a fall in the country's December exports, to rise 0.2 percent. Financial stocks largely pulled the index higher, with shares of DBS Group Holdings Ltd and United Overseas Bank Ltd rising 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. However, the Indonesian index bucked the trend to fall slightly, dragged by consumer staples and financial stocks. The country's central bank on Thursday held its key rate unchanged and the governor indicated that its cycle of aggressive tightening in 2018 was "near its peak", thanks to "dovish" recent signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0400 GMT Change on the day Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3221.21 3214.44 0.21 Bangkok 1582.25 1580.3 0.12 Manila 8005.73 7927.2 0.99 Jakarta 6421.22 6423.78 -0.04 Kuala Lumpur 1685.8 1682.97 0.17 Ho Chi Minh 901.48 901.89 -0.05 Change so far in 2019 Market Current End 2018 Pct Move Singapore 3221.21 3068.76 4.97 Bangkok 1582.25 1563.88 1.17 Manila 8005.73 7,466.02 7.23 Jakarta 6421.22 6,194.50 3.66 Kuala Lumpur 1685.8 1690.58 -0.28 Ho Chi Minh 901.48 892.54 1.00 (Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)