* U.S. official said tariffs on Chinese goods could be
withdrawn
* Singapore's Keppel Corp surges 17.1% on Temasek offer
* Indonesia set to snap seven consecutive sessions of gains
By Sameer Manekar
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets traded
in positive territory on Tuesday, with Singapore leading gains,
as signs of progress in the Sino-U.S. trade negotiations whetted
appetite and encouraged investors to resume their bets.
U.S. President Donald Trump sounded upbeat on a China deal
on Monday, while White House adviser Larry Kudlow said tariffs
on Chinese goods scheduled for December could be withdrawn if
talks go well. Trump's comments came as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said
last week that Beijing would work with Washington to resolve the
bruising 15-month trade dispute. However, investors believe that market optimism could soon
be tempered.
"To begin with, we had been here before. Trade negotiations
were reportedly going well before the talks abruptly broke off
in May," Mizuho Bank said in a note to clients.
Shares in Singapore, which is among the most vulnerable to
the trade dispute with China being the region's biggest trading
partner, gained the most with the benchmark index .STI hitting
its highest in more than a month.
Industrial conglomerate Keppel Corp KPLM.SI surged 17.1%,
marking its best session in more than 21 years, following
state-owned investor Temasek's bid to buy control of Keppel in a
S$4.1 billion ($3.01 billion) deal. The deal has raised expectations of consolidation in the
domestic rig buiding sector, with Keppel's peer Sembcorp Marine
SCMN.SI adding as much as 5.2%. Temasek is the majority
shareholder in Sembcorp.
The Thai index .SETI recovered from previous session's
decline to mark its best session in nearly two weeks.
Electricity generator Gulf Energy Development GULF.BK and
oil and gas refiner PTT PCL PTT.BK were among top gainers,
adding 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively.
Industrial and real-estate firms were among the top
performers in the Philippines index .PSI , with JG Summit
Holdings JGS.PS and Ayala Corp AC.PS gaining 1.8% and 1.2%,
respectively.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE were set to snap seven straight
sessions of gains as cautious investors await the central bank
policy meeting due later this week. Bank Indonesia is expected
to cut its benchmark rate by 25bps, according to a Reuters poll.
Auto manufacturer Astra International ASII.JK and cement
manufacturer Semen Indonesia SMGR.JK were among the top
losers, slipping 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
For Asian Companies click; ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0431 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3164.24 3139.15 0.80
Bangkok 1628.12 1620.78 0.45
Manila 7911.17 7891.13 0.25
Jakarta 6186.785 6198.987 -0.20
Kuala Lumpur 1568.9 1570.93 -0.13
Ho Chi Minh 987.06 983.56 0.36
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3164.24 3068.76 3.11
Bangkok 1628.12 1563.88 4.11
Manila 7911.17 7,466.02 5.96
Jakarta 6186.785 6,194.50 -0.12
Kuala Lumpur 1568.9 1690.58 -7.20
Ho Chi Minh 987.06 892.54 10.59
($1 = 1.3614 Singapore dollars)