Southeast Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday, with Philippine shares setting a record high, as upbeat US economic data helped stoke appetite for risk and demand for growth stocks lifted consumer and banking shares. The Philippine index finished up 0.9 percent. The index hit an intraday peak of 5,070.20, breaching the previous intraday all-time high of 5,039.29 set on March 6.
Jakarta's Composite Index rose 1.1 percent to end at 4,054.32, climbing at one point to 4,058.80, its highest since August 5. Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 1.25 percent to 3,026.40, slightly off a three-week intraday high of 3,027.61. UBS upgraded its year-end target for the benchmark Straits Times Index to 3,350 from 3,200 driven by expectation of some upgrades in earnings forecasts.
Malaysia's main index was up 0.75 percent, Thailand's SET index was up 0.94 percent and the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's Vietnam Index edged up 1.04 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was up 0.39 percent at 0936 GMT while the MSCI index of Southeast Asia, made up of selected stocks, was up 0.81 percent.
In Singapore, United Overseas Bank Ltd gained 2.6 percent, with CIMB Research upgrading the stock to outperform from neutral, citing a minor underperformance after fourth-quarter results. In Bangkok, banking shares rose 2 percent, hotelier Central Plaza Hotel Pcl climbed 5.3 percent and industrial estate developer Amata Corp Pcl gained 1.8 percent amid expectation of their strong earnings this year.
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