Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Thursday in line with broader Asia, while investors awaited US President Donald Trump's speech in Davos amid worries about global trade wars.
Trump signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels, which is among the first unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the administration as part of a broader protectionist agenda.
The dollar skidded to a three-year low against its peers after caving on comments by US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin that he welcomed a weaker currency.
Mnuchin told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that "obviously a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities." His comments were seen by markets as a departure from traditional US currency policy.
Trump is scheduled to speak in Davos later on Thursday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.15 percent, while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.8 percent.
Among Southeast Asian stock markets, Vietnam rose as much as 2.5 percent to its highest since May 2007 after a two-day closure due to technical issues.
The rise was mainly led by financials with Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam jumping 4.7 percent to a record high and Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp hitting a more than 3-year high.
"It is hard to say whether the market would correct immediately. The fundamentals like macroeconomics, inflows, M&A deals, privatisations are still lending support. The market might correct a little bit, which is actually a good thing, making it stable," said Le Thu Ha, an investment analyst with Vietcombank Securities
Philippine shares rose as much as 0.4 percent before paring the gains.
"Yesterday we had a correction and some profit-taking, so today we are seeing socks that declined recover what they lost," said Jeffrey Lucero, an equity research analyst at RCBC Securities.
Index heavyweight Jollibee Foods Corp gained up to 3.9 percent to a record high after falling in the previous two sessions, while real estate conglomerate Ayala Land Inc also touched an all-time peak.
"The short-term uptrend remains intact, but probably some consolidation before it finally breaks out of its resistance," Lucero added.
Malaysian shares edged up ahead of a central bank policy meeting later in the day.
Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to raise its overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent, a Reuters poll showed.
Petronas Gas Bhd gained as much as 1.7 percent and Genting Malaysia Bhd rose nearly 1 percent.
Singapore shares fell after four consecutive sessions of gains with financials and industrials weighing on the index.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd fell for the first time in five sessions, declining as much as 1.3 percent, while Keppel Corp Ltd dropped up to 1.9 percent.
"A lot of stocks had run-up over the last week, so I guess it's a slight pullback... but going forward I think earnings could provide a lift," said Joel Ng, an analyst with KGI Securities in Singapore.
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