SE Asia Stocks-Climb on optimism over Sino-U.S. trade talks
* Trump said U.S. may extend the March 1 deadline for a deal
* Singapore hits over 6-month high on strong DBS Group
results
* Philippines, Indonesia rises over 1 percent
By Shreya Mariam Job
Feb 18 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets climbed on
Monday as investors hoped for a resolution to the drawn-out
Sino-U.S. trade dispute after both sides offered optimism
following the Beijing talks, while Singaporean shares rose on
the back of upbeat earnings.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House news
conference, said the United States was closer than ever before
to "having a real trade deal" with China, and said he would be
"honored" to remove tariffs if an agreement can be reached.
Singapore shares gained as much as 1 percent to their
highest since August 2018 on the back of solid earnings by index
heavyweight DBS Group Holdings Ltd.
Southeast Asia's biggest lender DBS Group hit a nearly
one-month high after posting a record annual profit and an 8
percent rise in quarterly profit.
The index gained further as investors shrugged off a
bigger-than-expected decline in January non-oil domestic
exports.
Investors were also expecting certain supportive policies
from the budget statement due later in the session.
"As 2018 fourth-quarter GDP growth had slowed to just 1.9
percent year-on-year and the MTI (Ministry of Trade and
Industry) said 2019 growth could come in slightly below the
midpoint of its 1.5 percent-3.5 percent forecast, market
expectations for a larger fiscal boost could be somewhat
heightened," a note from OCBC said.
DBS' upbeat results helped lift other banking stocks, with
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank
rising as much as 1.7 percent and 1.4 percent,
respectively.
Philippine shares, which led the gains in the
regional markets, were boosted by industrial stocks. JG Summit
Holdings Inc firmed as much as 5.1 percent, while SM
Investment Corp strengthened up to 0.6 percent.
Underpinned by energy and financial stocks, Thai shares
rebounded from previous session's losses to edge 0.2
percent higher.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy's grew slightly more
than expected in the fourth quarter, expanding 0.8 percent from
the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis compared
with 0.6 percent as seen in a Reuters poll.
Financial and consumer stocks pushed the Indonesian
benchmark over 1 percent higher, with the index of the
country's 45 most liquid stocks rising 1.6 percent.
Meanwhile, Malaysian stocks and Vietnam shares
traded largely flat.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As At 0355 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3264.34 3239.74 0.76
Bangkok 1640.65 1636.94 0.23
Manila 8006.21 7908.89 1.23
Jakarta 6457.987 6389.085 1.08
Kuala Lumpur 1691.74 1688.83 0.17
Ho Chi Minh 953.47 950.89 0.27
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3264.34 3068.76 6.37
Bangkok 1640.65 1563.88 4.91
Manila 8006.21 7,466.02 7.24
Jakarta 6457.987 6,194.50 4.25
Kuala Lumpur 1691.74 1690.58 0.07
Ho Chi Minh 953.47 892.54 6.83
(Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
