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SE Asia Stocks-Rise on vaccine hopes; Indonesia jumps ahead of c.bank meeting

* Singapore stocks set for third straight session of gains * BI expected to cut benchmark rate by 25 bps - Reuters poll * Thai shares hit near 2-1/2 month high By Pranav A K May 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street's gains overnight, on hopes of economic recovery after a successful early-stage trial of a coronavirus vaccine boosted sentiment. Indexes across Wall Street posted gains on Monday, following encouraging data from drugmaker Moderna Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, which showed promising results in a small early-stage trial. "This (potential vaccine) had no doubt been the biggest mood booster for markets given the fact that the lingering coronavirus implications remain the single biggest issue holding back the market from recovery and a contributor to other risk factors including U.S.-China tensions," said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist with financial services firm IG. Leading gains in the region, Singapore and Indonesian shares were both on track for their biggest intraday percentage gain since April 30. Indonesian shares jumped 2%, boosted by financial stocks, with PT Victoria Investama surging 19.1% and investment manager PT Lippo Securities jumping 15.2%. The country's central bank is set to hold its policy meeting and is expected to deliver this year's third rate cut as it steps up efforts to revive an economy hit by the coronavirus crisis, a Reuters poll found. Singapore stocks climbed for a third straight session, up 1.9%, with transport services provider SATS Ltd adding 5.2% and large-cap Jardine Cycle & Carriage gaining 2.9%. Philippine stocks traded 1.5% higher and were set to snap two straight sessions of losses. Lender BDO Unibank rose 3.7%, while conglomerate Ayala Corp advanced 3.3%. In Thailand, the benchmark gained 1.8% to its highest level since March 6 and is on course for its third straight session of gains. Energy stocks propped up the index, helped by rising oil prices. Thai Oil and Star Petroleum gained 5.1% and 5.8%, respectively. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS OF 0340 GMT Change on the day Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 2587.37 2539.28 1.89 Bangkok 1309.48 1286.53 1.78 Manila 5560.22 5479.35 1.48 Jakarta 4601.526 4511.058 2.01 Kuala Lumpur 1419.79 1410.16 0.68 Ho Chi Minh 850.51 837.01 1.61 Change so far in 2020 Market Current End 2019 Pct Move Singapore 2587.37 3222.83 -19.72 Bangkok 1309.48 1579.84 -17.11 Manila 5560.22 7,815.26 -28.85 Jakarta 4601.526 6,299.54 -26.95 Kuala Lumpur 1419.79 1588.76 -10.64 Ho Chi Minh 850.51 960.99 -11.50 (Reporting by A K Pranav in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)