* Malaysia rises on Petronas Gas boost
* Philippines falls as cenbank holds key policy rate
* Singapore rises on bluechip financials
By Arundhati Dutta
Dec 12 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets rose on
Thursday, with Thailand snapping a 10-day losing streak and
leading gains, after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated there
would be no change in rate settings in the near future.
The Fed also projected a favourable outlook for the U.S.
economy at its last policy meeting of the year on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, China said it was in close communication with the
United States, while President Donald Trump is expected to meet
with top advisers to decide whether to go ahead with planned
Dec. 15 tariffs. Leading gains in the region, the Thai benchmark .SETI
snapped a 10-day losing streak and rebound from a near one-year
closing low hit in the previous session, boosted by energy
stocks.
The Malaysian index .KLSE posted its best intraday
percentage gain in over three weeks, boosted mostly by Petronas
Gas Bhd PGAS.KL , which rose as much as 8.7% and posted its
best intraday performance in over six years. "Rise is on the back of parent Petronas paring down its
stake to the domestic institutional funds. This is positive
considering the low float of stocks," said Redza Rahman, head of
Research at MIDF.
Singapore index .STI ended 0.7% higher, its best intraday
gain in nearly three weeks, boosted by gains in bluechip
financial stocks.
United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI and DBS Group Holdings
DBSM.SI climbed 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
The city state's jobless rate in the third quarter hit a
10-year high and retail sales in October fell 4.3% from year-ago
period. Singapore, which counts the United States and China as key
its trading partners, has been extremely reactive to any
development on the trade war.
Meanwhile, the Philippine index .PSI slipped 0.6%.
The Philippine central bank kept its key policy rate steady
for a second straight meeting, in line with a Reuters poll.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE dropped for the third straight
session, after Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the
government will not change the legal limit on fiscal deficit.
Index heavyweight Telekomunikasi Indonesia TLKM.JK dropped
2.5%.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3194.67 3172.9 0.69
Bangkok 1563.85 1551.82 0.78
Manila 7741.07 7786.41 -0.58
Jakarta 6139.397 6180.099 -0.66
Kuala Lumpur 1567.34 1563.19 0.27
Ho Chi Minh 968.17 961.78 0.66
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3194.67 3068.76 4.10
Bangkok 1563.85 1563.88 0.00
Manila 7741.07 7,466.02 3.68
Jakarta 6139.397 6,194.50 -0.89
Kuala Lumpur 1567.34 1690.58 -7.29
Ho Chi Minh 968.17 892.54 8.47