SE Asia Stocks-Rise as trade war concerns ebb; Philippines down

* Singapore rises over 1 pct

* Vietnam recovers from previous session's 2.5 pct loss

* Philippines falls after Feb inflation ticks up

By Susan Mathew

March 6 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose

on Tuesday, with Singapore up more than 1 percent, as receding

tensions of a global trade war improved sentiment on Wall Street

and broader Asia and spilled over to regional equities.

Investors now believe U.S. President Donald Trump may back

down from imposing a tariff on imports of steel and aluminium

after strong reactions from Canada and Mexico, and as leading

Republicans leaned on Trump to rethink his decision.

Asia shares ex-Japan rose 1.3 percent, while

U.S. stocks ended Monday higher, with all three major indexes

closing up more than 1 percent.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore shares snapped a

five-day losing streak to rise as much as 1.4 percent, with top

lenders leading the gains.

DBS Group Holdings, United overseas Bank

and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rose over 1.3

percent each.

Vietnam was up 0.9 percent, recovering from steep

losses in the previous session as Vingroup JSC and

Petrovietnam Gas rose 1.6 percent and 2.8 percent,

respectively. The index closed 2.5 percent lower in the previous

session.

The Philippine stock index, however, fell 0.4 percent

after data showed inflation in February ticked above the

central bank's 2-4 percent target.

"Uncertainty considering that the inflation number, if you

use the 2006 base year, has already surpassed the 4 percent

limit by the central bank" has spurred selling for the day,

said Manny Cruz, an analyst with Asiasec Equities Inc in Manila.

"That may mean that in the policy meeting this month, BSP

(Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) may raise interest rates. If not,

in the near term, the central bank may be compelled to do

something to prevent any escalation of inflation."

Food and beverages company Universal Robina Corp

fell 3.4 percent, while real estate firm SM Investments

posted a 0.8 percent loss.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AT 0330 GMT

Market Current Previous Pct Move

close

Singapore 3477.11 3438.61 1.12

Bangkok 1811.44 1808.89 0.14

Manila 8353.36 8386.17 -0.39

Jakarta 6557.863 6550.593 0.11

Kuala Lumpur 1847.84 1842.62 0.28

Ho Chi Minh 1104.68 1093.48 1.02

Change on year

Market Current End 2017 Pct Move

Singapore 3477.11 3402.92 2.18

Bangkok 1811.44 1753.71 3.29

Manila 8353.36 8558.42 -2.40

Jakarta 6557.863 6355.654 3.18

Kuala Lumpur 1847.84 1796.81 2.84

Ho Chi Minh 1104.68 984.24 12.24

(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju

Dwarakanath)