SE Asia Stocks-Thailand jumps to near 24-yr closing high; Philippines extends gains

By Shanima A

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Thai shares jumped to a near 24-year

closing high on Tuesday after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha

said the country will hold general elections in November next

year, while Philippine stocks extended gains to close at a

record level on positive trade data.

Prayuth, head of the ruling junta, said the exact date would

be announced in June 2018. The junta had announced election

dates at least two times in the past, only to push them back

later, citing concerns such as changes to the constitution and

security issues.

"Lot of investors were waiting for the news of elections as

it will be a catalyst to move the market above the 1,700 level,"

said Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst with Phillip Capital

Thailand, soon after mid-day.

The Thai SET index ended 0.9 percent higher at

1,706.95, its highest close since January 1994.

Energy and consumer staples stocks led the gains, with PTT

Pcl rising 2.4 percent while CP All Pcl

climbed 2.2 percent.

Philippine shares rose for a third straight session

and closed at a record level of 8,398.04. SM Investments

gained 2.3 percent and BDO Unibank rose 1.6 percent.

"Philippine markets closed at yet another all-time high, and

just short of the 8,400 marker, export and import data may have

buoyed the market with little activity happening in the United

States," said Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina

Capital Corp.

Trade data released early in the session showed that exports

in the eight months to August rose 13.3 percent to $42.11

billion from a year ago, while imports jumped 8.2 percent to

$59.15 billion.

Most other Southeast Asian stock markets marked time with

investors awaiting the minutes of Federal Reserve's September

meeting due on Wednesday.

Indonesian shares ended 0.2 percent lower, weighed

down by telecom and consumer stocks. Telekomunikasi Indonesia

(Persero) was the biggest drag, shedding 2 percent to

close at its lowest in more than three months.

The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks

fell 0.3 percent.

Singapore shares edged down, hurt by declines in

financials. United Overseas Bank dropped 0.6 percent,

while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp slipped 0.3

percent.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change on day

Market Current previous Pct Move

close

Singapore 3288.95 3291.56 -0.08

Bangkok 1706.95 1692.22 0.87

Manila 8398.04 8367.38 0.37

Jakarta 5905.762 5914.933 -0.16

Kuala Lumpur 1761.13 1764.03 -0.16

Ho Chi Minh 810.65 808.96 0.21

Change so far

this year

Market Current End 2016 Pct Move

Singapore 3288.95 2880.76 14.17

Bangkok 1706.95 1542.94 10.63

Manila 8398.04 6840.64 22.8

Jakarta 5905.762 5296.711 11.50

Kuala Lumpur 1761.13 1641.73 7.27

Ho Chi Minh 810.65 664.87 21.9

(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by

Enrico delaCruz in Manila; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)