Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday as the US Federal Reserve's pledge to be "patient" about hiking interest rates continued to boost sentiment. The Fed's signal "continues to be the positive catalyst that supports the global market rally," Jakarta's BNI Securities said in a research note on Friday. The markets had been highly volatile earlier in the week as plunging oil prices and the Russian rouble caused outflows from the region due to global risk aversion.
The Indonesian stock index rose 0.6 percent for the day, extending a 1.5 percent gain from the previous session. However, the index fell 0.3 percent for the week amid volatility in the Indonesian rupiah. Shares in PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) Tbk, Indonesia's largest telecommunication company, rose 0.5 percent. Telekom shareholders on Friday appointed Alex Sinaga as the new CEO. Sinaga was previously CEO of Telkom's mobile phone network unit, Telkomsel.
Philippine stocks rose 1.4 percent for the day, but posted their third weekly loss. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc, a Philippine investment company, rose 1.1 percent. Broker Maybank ATR Kim Eng upgraded Aboitiz to 'hold' and raised its target price by 20 percent on improving growth prospects of the company's power generation and distribution unit, it said in a note on Friday. The Thai stock index lost 0.2 percent for the day, retreating from a 3.7 percent gain in the previous two sessions.