* Singapore closes at over 2-month high
* Indonesia rises for fourth straight session
* China Dec exports up 7.6% y/y, beats forecast
By Sameer Manekar
Jan 14 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
higher on Tuesday, underpinned by optimism on the imminent
signing of a Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and
China, with Singapore leading gains lifted by the industrial
sector.
Under the terms of the trade deal to be signed on Wednesday
in Washington, China has pledged to buy nearly $80 billion worth
of additional manufactured goods from the United States over the
next two years, and would also buy more than $50 billion more in
energy supplies, a source told Reuters on Monday. "Asia markets are expected to sing to the cheer on Wall
Street with the alleviation of U.S.-China trade tensions
carrying this week," IG Asia said.
Aiding the sentiment further, exports from the region's
largest trading partner, China, rose for the first time in five
months in December and by more than expected, signalling a
modest recovery in demand. In Southeast Asia, the benchmark index of trade-reliant
Singapore .STI closed at a more than 2-month high, driven by
major gains in the industrial sector.
Industrial conglomerates Jardine Strategic Holdings JSH.SI
and Jardine Matheson Holdings JARD.SI advanced 4.6% and 3.8%,
respectively.
Indonesian shares .JKSE ended higher for the fourth
consecutive session. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) BBRI.JK
added 1.3%, while Unilever Indonesia UNVR.JK was up 0.9%.
The Philippine bourse .PSI reversed course from earlier in
the session as investors rushed back to equities in last minute
trading. The index gained 16.48 points after losing as much as
92.49 points earlier.
Consumer firms lifted the index, with food and beverage firm
Universal Robina Corp URC.PS jumping 6.5%.
Malaysian equities .KLSE fell for a third straight
session, however, though the main index trimmed its earlier
losses to finish 0.3% lower.
Indian palm oil importers effectively stopped all purchases
from Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, after
the government privately urged them to boycott its product
following a diplomatic spat, sources said. POI/
Malaysia's exports to India constituted nearly a quarter of
its total palm oil exports in 2019 to government data from 2018 oil was the major contributor to the gross domestic product
of the country's agriculture sector.
Sime Darby Plantation SIPL.KL and IJM Plantations
IJMP.KL ended 2.2% and 3.6% lower, respectively.
Thai stocks .SETI finished marginally higher, while
Vietnam index .VNI gained 0.1%.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3270.54 3251.07 0.60
Bangkok 1586.9 1586.16 0.05
Manila 7793.25 7776.77 0.21
Jakarta 6325.406 6296.567 0.46
Kuala Lumpur 1580.6 1584.73 -0.26
Ho Chi Minh 967 965.84 0.12
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3270.54 3222.83 1.48
Bangkok 1586.9 1563.88 1.47
Manila 7793.25 7,466.02 4.38
Jakarta 6325.406 6,194.50 2.11
Kuala Lumpur 1580.6 1588.76 -0.51
Ho Chi Minh 967 892.54 8.34