SE Asia Stocks - Higher as oil recovers; set for gains on week
BANGKOK, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets
rose on Friday as a rebound in global oil prices lured investors
back to energy shares, with Malaysia and the Philippines seeing
robust gains ahead of a three-day weekend.
Kuala Lumpur's composite index advanced 0.8 percent
to its highest level since Aug. 14. It is on course for a weekly
gain of 2.5 percent, among the outperformers in the region.
The Philippine index rose 0.7 percent, but is poised
for a weekly drop of almost 3 percent.
Malaysia and the Philippines will be closed on Monday for a
public holiday.
Shares in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam
extended gains from the day before, and were on track to
end the week higher.
Among top gainers were Indonesia's Astra Agro Lestari
, Malaysia's Sapurakencana Petroleum,
Philippine Petron Corp and Singapore's Sembpcorp
Marine, with crude oil futures rising on Friday,
adding to their biggest one-day rally in over six years the day
before.
In Bangkok, the SET index was up 0.8 percent, led by
an 8 percent surge in shares of energy explorer PTT Exploration
and Production.
The SET is on course for a modest rise on the week after a
more-than-5-percent plunge the week before after a deadly bomb
blast in Bangkok spurred foreign selling.
The military government's plan for economic stimulus
measures also helped buoy sentiment, brokers said.
"Energy shares should lead the overall market higher today,
and we would continue to focus on stocks that will benefit from
coming economic stimulus measures," said strategists at broker
Krungsri Securities in a report.
Asian shares extended a global rally on Friday after upbeat
U.S. economic data calmed sentiment, with Chinese stocks jumping
for the second day following a rocky start to the week.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0626 GMT
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
Singapore 2986.84 2945.43 +1.41
Kuala Lumpur 1613.43 1601.70 +0.73
Bangkok 1368.49 1358.03 +0.77
Jakarta 4467.45 4430.63 +0.83
Manila 7070.94 7022.09 +0.70
Ho Chi Minh 565.17 555.81 +1.68
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Sunil Nair)
