Asean stocks: Mostly higher

BANGKOK: Most Southeast Asian stocks rose in line with Asia on Friday, helped by prospects of extended US monetary stimulus while typhoon-hit Philippines climbed to a one-week high after a positive view by ratings agency Moody's.

The Philippine index was up 0.7 per cent at 6,370.23, at one point hitting 6,378.25, the highest since November 8.

Investors bought large caps battered earlier in the week by concerns over the impact of typhoon Haiyan.

The benchmark is on track to post a weekly gain of 0.3 per cent after the 3.5 per cent drop in the previous week.

Among actively traded shares, Globe Telecom jumped 1.2 per cent, trimming its losses so far this week to 5.3 per cent, while shares of Alliance Global Group rose 1.1 per cent, on track for a week-to-date gain of 1.1 per cent.

Moody's Investor Service said the Philippines' economic fundamentals remained intact despite the onslaught of typhoon Haiyan.

Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.3 per cent, Malaysia's share index gained 0.24 per cent and Thai SET index was up 0.04 per cent. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose 1.3 per cent.

In Bangkok, political concerns prompted quick profit taking.
The SET index was at 1,416.21 at mid-day, coming off a one-week high of 1,427.69 in early trade.

Strategists at broker Phillip Securities expect the SET index to move in a range of 1,400-1,430 during the day.

"Domestic political worries may periodically put pressure on sentiment. In our view, risk-aversion selling on rise may put a cap on the market's upside potential," they wrote in a report.

Vietnam rose 0.4 per cent, boosted by news of a plan proposed to the government to increase foreign investors' voting shares in listed firms.

In Jakarta, cautious investors trimmed holdings in Indonesian shares in response to a tighter monetary policy, sending the key composite index 0.3 per cent lower.

Shares of Bank Mandiri fell 1.3 per cent and shares of Astra International eased 0.8 per cent.

"Indonesian equities now face a distinct policy risk. Whereas the US Federal Reserve is hinting a continuation of its low interest policy, Indonesia has declared a bias for tight monetary policy," said John Rachmat, head of research at Mandiri Sekuritas.

Indonesia's index is poised for a loss of 2.7 per cent on the week after the central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark reference rate by 25 basis points to 7.50 per cent on Tuesday