* Malaysia rises to highest in near 3-weeks
* Philippines on track to post second consecutive gain
By Shreya Mariam Job
May 29 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks were the top gainers
among Southeast Asian markets on Wednesday, recovering most of
their losses from the previous session, while strong corporate
results continued to boost Malaysian shares.
The Jakarta SE Composite index .JKSE rose 1%, helped by
financials as well as telecom stocks.
Shares of Bank Central Asia BBCA.JK gained 0.8%, while
those of Telekomunikasi Indonesia TLKM.JK climbed 3.5%.
The country has been tackling political turmoil following
the re-election of President Joko Widodo, with riots claiming
lives and injuring hundreds, which has left investors largely
uncertain.
However, foreign inflows into government bonds continued
even during the unrest, Indonesia's central bank Governor Perry
Warjiyo told Reuters in an interview. "From May 20 through May
22, during the height of the unrest, there was a foreign inflow
of around 3.5 trillion rupiah into government bonds."
Thai stocks .SETI edged lower and were on track to snap
three straight sessions of gains.
Energy and healthcare stocks led declines with Bangkok Dusit
Medical Services PCL BDMS.BK and PTT PCL PTT.BK shedding
1.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Malaysian shares .KLSE rose as much as 0.7% to
their highest level since May 9, with state utility firm Tenaga
Nasional Bhd TENA.KL contributing to most of the gains.
Tenaga added as much as 7% during the session, rising to a
more than one month high, after posting strong quarterly results
on Tuesday. Petronas Gas Bhd PGAS.KL also extended gains for a
second session due to strong earnings rise of 1.8%.
Philippine stocks .PSI extended gains to a second
consecutive session, with real estate and financial stocks
driving the index.
"This has more to do with investor sentiment than any
tangible economic data... These developments on the trade war
must have already been priced in," said Charles William Ang,
associate analyst at COL Financial Group.
Shares of SM Prime Holdings Inc SMPH.PS and BDO Unibank
Inc BDO.PS advanced 0.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Singapore shares .STI dipped, in line with
broader Asian markets, as industrial and consumer stocks dragged
the index.
Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd JSH.SI shed 1.2%, while
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp OCBC.SI slid 0.6%.
Vietnam stocks .VNI edged lower. The country's trade
deficit widened to $1.3 billion in May, from $550 million in
April, while consumer prices for the month rose 2.88% from a
year earlier. Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0426 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3156.88 3165.32 -0.27
Bangkok 1627.75 1632.04 -0.26
Manila 7809.06 7761.29 0.62
Jakarta 6094.399 6033.142 1.02
Kuala Lumpur 1625.17 1614.57 0.66
Ho Chi Minh 970.71 972 -0.13
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3156.88 3068.76 2.87
Bangkok 1627.75 1563.88 4.08
Manila 7809.06 7,466.02 4.59
Jakarta 6094.399 6,194.50 -1.62
Kuala Lumpur 1625.17 1690.58 -3.87
Ho Chi Minh 970.71 892.54 8.76