BANGKOK: Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday, with Indonesia rallying to a near six-month high after fourth-quarter economic growth beat forecasts and key regional indexes notching up strong gains ahead of holidays.
All share markets in Southeast Asia, except Thailand, will be closed on Monday for the Lunar New Year holiday. Singapore and Malaysia will remain closed through Tuesday and Vietnam for the rest of the week.
Indonesia outperformed as foreigners bought large caps, taking the Jakarta composite index 2.6 percent higher to 4,785.62 a level last hit on Aug. 7. Bank Rakyat Indonesia , the most actively traded, jumped 4.8 percent.
Data showed Indonesia's economy grew 5.04 percent from a year earlier in the final quarter of 2015 as government spending countered weak exports and consumption, beating a Reuters poll median forecast for year-on-year growth of 4.8 percent.
Indonesia is poised for a weekly rise of 3.6 percent, the biggest in the region.
Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines rose for a second day, while Thailand and Vietnam saw shares rising into a third day in the face of a weaker US currency and subdued expectations for a Fed rate hike this year.
"Investment sentiment in worldwide markets is still neutral-positive. The liquidity surplus will continue and the US dollar should be more stable," said broker Maybank Kim Eng Securities in Bangkok.
Asian stocks were subdued on Friday and the dollar wobbled ahead of the closely watched US jobs report, which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook.
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